Camping Trip
by JanSuch
Summary: Helen takes Nikola, Will, Henry and Biggie camping, but things don't turn out as she planned. Takes place after season 4, spoilers.
1. Chapter 1 Conflicts

"Slob" muttered Biggie, as he picked up empty wine bottles in the library.

"Yeah, you should see what my lab looks like" Henry said, as he searched for a book. "The Vamp is one messy guy." Biggie just shook his head and headed off to dispose of the bottles. Henry found the reference he needed and exited the library, colliding with Will in the hallway.

"Hey, watch where you're going!" Will looked down at his wet shirt, liberally spattered with the soda he had been carrying.

"Why don't you watch where you're going instead?" Henry snapped back, and immediately regretted it. Even though Henry had been putting in twelve hour days and hadn't been able to play "Parachute Troopers" in a week, Will looked more tired than he did.

Helen Magnus came down the hall in time to hear the exchange. Her whole team was tired, overworked, and irritable. "Gentlemen, enough. Will, do you have the month end summary for me yet?"

"Uh, no, but I'll have it today. Our team in Spain needed emergency help this morning with an infestation of giant earwigs, the Australian tax audit is a mess, I've got four more calls to return. . ."

"Just do your best" Helen said quietly, trying to calm her second in command. She herself had been swamped dealing with the reorganization and consolidation of the Sanctuary network and had delegated a lot of the day-to-day to Will, in addition to his own duties. He had only been here two months, and had barely adjusted to the new location when she had found it necessary to offload some of her own work on him. She noticed Henry edging down the hall and turned to him, allowing Will to escape back to his office.

"Henry, what's the status on physical installation security?"

"We've got basic EM shielding up, the passageway protections are in place, and cameras are all functioning. I still need to install infrared sensors and I think there's a problem in the Peru entrance, the alarms go off but there's nothing there as far as I can tell.

"Do you need anything?"

"Could you get Fang-boy out of my lab? Every time I need a tool, I eventually find it buried under all his stuff."

"Unfortunately, no. You know he's trying to consolidate and catalog the entire Sanctuary database. He insisted he needed total carte blanche to do it, so you will have to put up with him for now. I'm sorry, Henry, but we need to have the computers in order ASAP and he's the expert."

Henry nodded, grimacing. He hated that Tesla was better with computers than he was, but the chance to see how the guy worked was an opportunity to learn that Henry wanted badly, no matter how annoying he was. Too bad he had no time to watch him.

Helen strode to her office, intent on continuing her review of the placement of the abnormals in residence into the best possible habitats. Most were currently separated, but some could and should share habitats, it would be beneficial and more natural for them. It just took excruciatingly exact scholarship to ensure each move would prove beneficial for all involved. Many were already stressed from the consolidation move, and she wanted to limit increasing their stress as much as possible.

Biggie was waiting for her. That surprised her; he usually functioned unobtrusively and independently, and rarely came to her office when she was working. Now he looked unhappy, as near as she could tell. His Sasquatch face didn't show emotion very much, but his eyes did.

"What's wrong?" she asked gently.

"Everything is wrong" he replied miserably, adding a couple of grunts for emphasis.

"Come now, everything cannot be wrong. What is it you don't like- the grounds, your quarters? You know you can move if they don't suit you."

"My quarters are fine. It's just . . . it's not like it used to be. Henry is mad because most of his stuff got blown up when you destroyed the old building, Will is mad because he was the last one you brought here, Kate is never around, and Tesla makes messes and won't lift a finger to clean up after himself. I tell him, but he doesn't listen. I don't like him. I stayed to help because it was like having a family, now it's not."

Helen went over to her desk and sat down, taking a moment to order her thoughts.

"I know things are different right now, but it will work out. I couldn't help it about Henry's belongings, I did save all the photos from his childhood, and most of the rest is replaceable. It will take some time, but you know Henry will forgive me. Will was working for SCIU, I had to be sure his connection with them was completely severed before I could bring him down. He understands that, I don't believe he's really angry, but he's playing catch up and he's a bit overloaded right now. And you know Kate is with her beau."

Biggie grunted, thinking it over and finding himself somewhat mollified. "What about Tesla?"

Helen sighed. What about him? "My dear, I'm afraid I don't have much of an answer for him. Since he left home in 1875 he has lived his entire life in boarding houses and hotels. His mother and sisters picked up after him at home, and he has had maid service for over a century. I don't know if he can be retrained at this point."

"Well I'm not his maid."

"I know. Perhaps we could work on him a little at a time. What one thing would make the most difference to you?"

"The wine bottles; everywhere wine bottles. And the wine glass rings on the furniture."

Helen thought for a moment. "Put a tub at the entrance to the wine cellar, with a sign on it saying 'wine bottle recycling'. Since he usually ends up going back for another bottle whenever he finishes one, perhaps we can convince him to deposit the empties there."

"You think so?" Biggie asked hopefully.

Helen sighed. She doubted it would work, but at least the attempt should be made. "It might" she said, but without much conviction.

Biggie shook his head and grunted, not convinced either. He headed for the door, saying "I'll put the barrel and sign up today" but he didn't sound hopeful.

Helen sat and watched him go. The abnormal re-housing would have to wait. Her team was grumpy, irritable, and overworked. There really wasn't time for a vacation, but a long weekend? Yes, but it had to put them in a situation where they had to work together and had to talk to each other, somewhere out of their comfort zone. She smiled. Camping would be perfect. She liked the outdoors, and it would be a bit of a reward for Biggie who had put up with a lot lately, from allowing himself to be beaten up and dumped at the Sanctuary gate to lure the "bad guys", to months of picking up wine bottles. And fastidious Nikola would hate it. Her smile turned into an evil grin.

Helen had Biggie, Will, and Henry in her office. Henry fidgeted, Will sat slumped in his chair and Biggie stood by the wall impassively. Ten minutes late, Nikola strolled in and walked straight to where she sat at her desk.

"Finally," Helen said, frowning at him.

"I hope this doesn't take long, I'm busy you know" Nikola said, one hand on his hip and the other on her desk, leaning over her a bit.

Nikola didn't intimidate her one bit. "Sit down" she told him sharply.

He was a bit taken aback at the tone of command in her voice, and did as he was told. Henry stopped fidgeting, Will sat up straight, and all four males eyed her expectantly.

"We are going to do a team building exercise" Helen announced. Will and Henry groaned.

"I can't take . . ." started Will, and "I don't have . . ." said Henry at the same time. She stopped them with a raised hand. Nikola just looked peeved.

"I know everyone is busy, but there is nothing that needs doing so urgently that it can't wait until next week. We cannot continue as we have been. I have arranged for Declan to sub for us with a team starting late on Thursday for handoff, and Kate will also be back to handle any abnormal missions that come up. On Friday the five of us are going camping. We will be returning Monday afternoon."

Shocked silence, and then the reactions started. Biggie looked pleased, Henry was thinking about it, and Will was about to object again. Nikola's face had gone blank- bad sign.

Helen continued. "Will, we all need a break, and a little time alone together will help us reintegrate as a team."

Will looked thoughtful, and nodded. She could see Henry was starting to take to the idea too, but she had to ruin the plan she could see forming in his mind.

"There will be absolutely no electronic devices permitted, with the exception of one cell phone that I will have for emergencies."

Henry half rose from his chair. "Doc, that's not fair. I need . . . "

"No, Henry. If we have electronic devices three of you will sit with your heads in them the entire weekend. We are going to communicate with each other, and that is final!"

"She's right" agreed Will. "You know she is. Tesla, Henry and I would spend the entire weekend like that and that would abrogate the whole purpose of the outing."

Helen nodded at him gratefully. It was so lovely having an intelligent psychologist for a second in command.

"We leave at six A.M. Friday morning gentlemen. Bring what personal items you need. Henry, Biggie, please ensure we have the tents, bedrolls, etc. packed in the van by then. Questions? No? Good. I will see you then."

Biggie, Will and Henry filed out. That left her and Nikola facing each other. She knew this was not going to be easy, but she was prepared.

"I am not going" Nikola said flatly.

"Oh yes you are."

"You can't make me."

"You will go, and you will participate."

"I am not living in the dirt with the bugs for one minute, much less three days."

Helen softened her expression. "The tents have floors and zippered doors, they will be relatively dirt and bug free, and you will have one to yourself. And if you do not go, I will require everyone to update their access codes except you, wipe out all the old access codes including all of mine that you know, and make you ring the bell and beg for admittance every time you come to visit."

"You wouldn't."

"Oh I most definitely would. And I will not restock the wine cellar."

"You are a cruel woman."

"Indeed, but you are coming camping with us."

Nikola sat looking at the floor for a moment, twiddling his fingers. Suddenly he stood and looked at her grimly. "Fine. I'll go, God help me."

"I thought you didn't believe in God."

"I don't, but I am a desperate man, Helen."

Helen laughed, and Nikola couldn't help but respond with a wry grin before he left her office.


	2. Chapter 2 Friday

Friday dawned clear, with a bit of a fall chill in the air. _A perfect day for camping_ Helen thought.

She double checked the gear in the van. Biggie and Henry had packed everything they needed, tents, sleeping bags, tools, etc. Two large coolers were included- she made sure one had Nikola's animal plasma. Biggie didn't really need any of the gear; he was quite at home in his native forest.

Will and Henry slung their bags in the back. She was pleased to see they arrived together, and both were dressed in jeans, heavy boots, and layers of T-shirt, flannel shirt and jacket, much as she was herself. She looked around starting to wonder if Nikola was going to try to pull a bunk at the last minute, and then was startled to find him already in the van, asleep in the front passenger seat. He was dressed in his camel 3-piece suit and Italian leather shoes.

"Nikola! Wake up!" She poked him with her finger.

He opened one eye. "Why? We're just going for a ride, aren't we?"

"You can't go camping dressed like that."

"Yes I can."

Fine, let him learn the hard way. "Have you been here all night?"

"No, I was working all night. I've been here about an hour. Now shush, and me get some sleep." His eye closed.

Helen threw up her hands and gave up. She got in and started the van. They had a long drive ahead.

Three hours later they stopped at a gas station convenience store and everyone took a bathroom break, except Biggie who stayed out of sight in the van, and Nikola who was apparently still asleep, Henry and Will loaded up on snacks, beer, and junk food. A short distance down the road they turned off of the pavement onto a dirt road that soon turned into a dirt track. They slowly bumped down it for an hour, branches occasionally scraping the van on either side and on top. Finally, they pulled into a small meadow with a beautiful blue lake on the other side and parked. Everyone piled out and started unpacking the van, except Nikola.

Helen poked him. "Come on, sleeping beauty, time to get up and help unload."

Nikola opened both eyes and sighed. "And so it begins: Hell week."

"It's only three days. Help carry the tents, we're going over by the lake."

The five of them made short work of unloading the van. Helen and Biggie directed the setup of the camp, and soon two small tents and one large one surrounded a campfire, wood and kindling were cut and stacked, the latrine dug, and everyone's gear was stowed. Nikola wanted the big tent, but accepted having one of the small ones when it was explained that Will and Henry would share the larger tent in the middle, and Helen and Nikola would each have one of the small tents to either side. Biggie assured them he had no need for a tent, unlike the "soft humans" he was with.

Helen, Will, Henry and Biggie roasted wieners over the fire for lunch. Nikola wrinkled his nose at the procedure and wandered around the meadow instead. He said he found the odor of charring meat unpleasant, at best.

After lunch, Helen used her cell phone to check in with the Sanctuary, answering a few questions from Declan, while the guys cleaned up. Will and Henry grabbed beers, snacks, and fishing poles, and went wandering down the shoreline looking for a good place to drop in their lines. Biggie went off to enjoy his natural habitat, and Helen approached Nikola as he wandered back to the nearly empty camp.

Helen looked at his slouching amble, and said "Come on, Nikola, surely you can find something out here that pleases you."

He shrugged. "The air is clean and fresh, and so far I haven't seen too many bugs."

Okay, he was trying- sort of. "Come and sit. We haven't had time to talk in ages" she invited.

He pulled up a camp stool and she sat on a log.

"Okay, what do you want to talk about?" he asked, then continued "do you remember that time in Prague when we . . . "

Helen cut him short. "I have something more important we need to address." She hesitated, not sure how to begin. "The Sanctuary is not a hotel."

"I know, the room service is awful." Nikola smirked.

"You cannot expect room service or maid service. You need to start cleaning up after yourself. I've had Biggie put a recycling tub by the wine cellar for your empties, and I would appreciate it if you would wash your used glassware and dispose of your corks and miscellaneous trash properly. Oh, and use a coaster for heaven's sake."

Nikola had given up the smirk half way through, and now just looked affronted. "Helen, I have more important things to do than be a janitor. Besides, that's what the mound of hair is for."

"No, it isn't. Biggie helps out with the cleaning, but he is not a maid, and he does not have time to follow you around cleaning up after you as if you were a child. I know you are used to hotel service, but you are an adult, please start acting like one."

Scowling, Nikola opened his mouth to retort, then closed it again; his mind raced furiously. He could flatly refuse of course, what could she do about it, she needed him. But this was Helen, she had already threatened him with a couple of unpleasant things and he was sure she could think of more. Or he could agree and then just blow it off, but that would likely make her angrier in the long run. On the other hand, what if he actually did what she wanted or even exceeded what she wanted? How would she react? If he approached it as an experiment, an intellectual exercise, perhaps it would be worth his time, at least for a while. And it would throw her off balance. He enjoyed throwing Helen off balance- it wasn't easy to do after all the time they had known each other. Of course there were other places he wouldn't mind throwing her, gently of course . . .

Outwardly he just touched his fingertips together for a few seconds, then he looked at her, grinned and chirped "Okay", and stood up.

Now it was Helen's turn to be taken aback. This was too easy; Nikola had to have something up his sleeve. What was he plotting?

"Well, okay then" she said, looking worried and still trying to figure out why he had acquiesced so easily. She gave it up; nobody else on earth thought like Nikola Tesla. She would find out in time, she just hoped whatever he had in mind wouldn't precipitate a crisis.

In a short while Henry and Will came back whooping and showing off three bass and seven large perch.

"I caught the biggest bass and five of the perch" Henry said proudly. "The fish here practically catch themselves."

"You had better bait!" Will protested.

"Yeah, Cheesy Chips."

Biggie arrived back in camp just then as well, as if he knew exactly when he was needed. He got out the fish cleaning gear and began preparing the catch for spitting over the fire.

Will and Henry went in their tent and changed into their swim trunks, and tried to persuade Helen to joint them in a dip in the lake, but she wasn't interested. The two went off, making a lot of noise splashing while getting into the cool water. Then they put their heads together and seemed to be discussing something. Helen wondered what they were up to, but was glad to see them slipping back into their old friendship so easily. She worried a little that Biggie was doing most of the work around the camp, taking care of chores as he did back home, and Nikola wasn't getting any closer to anyone except her. Well, the weekend was still young.

Will and Henry waded back on shore, and moved a little way down the lake. There was a small rise just off the shoreline and the water dropped off very steeply there, but they were both good swimmers so Helen didn't worry about them. She decided she would go for a little stroll in the woods herself, not too far, just for a little alone time. She was halfway across the meadow when she heard Henry call out to Nikola.

"Hey Nik- c'mere, you have to see this!"

Helen stopped and looked back to see Nikola start to walk over to where Henry was standing next to the lake. Henry was partially turned away, looking at something in his hand. Will was on top of the small rise. She got a very odd feeling- should she go back? She hesitated. Nikola had almost reached Henry when Will suddenly seemed to stumble, then half fell and half jumped down the rise right into Nikola, knocking him into the water; Nikola went completely under.

Helen began to run. Could Nikola even swim? Could a vampire drown? She wasn't sure about either, she frantically tried to remember ever seeing him swim as she ran. Henry and Will were just standing there laughing. They wouldn't let him drown, they didn't like him, but they wouldn't, she was almost sure they wouldn't, not on purpose. She couldn't see Nikola at all, just the widening ring in the water.

Then Nikola came up sputtering and indignant. He couldn't get out of the water there, the bank was too steep; after a futile effort that caused more hilarity, he swam back toward the camp and clambered out dripping. He glared at the two men who were still chuckling, and waded completely out of the water. His suit was likely ruined, and his hair was plastered to his head, water dripping down his face.

"So what is so interesting, Henry?" he asked glacially.

"Oh, just this rock. Pretty, see?" Henry held up a rather ordinary looking stone, maintaining a look of complete innocence.

"Sorry Tesla," Will offered, "I slipped; would probably have broken my neck if you hadn't broken my fall."

It sounded insincere, even to Helen who was trying hard not to believe what she had just seen. She walked quickly back the rest of the way. She might have to referee at any moment.

Tesla walked soggily over to Henry and held out his hand. Henry hesitated, then dropped the rock into it. Tesla did a quick perusal of it, then without looking away from Henry he flicked it into the middle of the lake. Leaning in toward Henry, he said very softly "Fetch."

Henry bristled; he was touchy about the werewolf thing. He started to object, but Nikola had already turned on his heel and walked away. As he stalked past Will he said sarcastically, "Very professional, Junior."

Will threw up his hands and said to Helen "You see?" But that was as far as he got since Tesla was already past him, ignoring him completely. Tesla went into his tent and zipped up the door.

Helen had seen Nikola's face as he walked past. His fangs were showing just a little bit, but his eyes were still their normal human blue. So he was angry, but not homicidal- yet.

Helen went over to Henry and Will. "That is more than enough boys. There will be no further 'accidents' on this camping trip, is that clear?"

Henry hung his head and nodded, as much as admitting his complicity. He was still a little angry at Tesla addressing him like a dog, but being essentially a fair person he realized he and Will had started it.

Will was still very angry, shrugged and said "Hey, accidents happen, we can't control them."

"Will, don't" Helen warned.

Will gave up the pretense. "He deserved it. He's an egotistical we blanket and I don't know why you had to drag him along."

"Because we need him. Because we work with him, sometimes in very pressing or dangerous circumstances. Because one day I won't be there and _you_ will need him, and he won't come when you call. And I won't have the Sanctuary damaged or destroyed, or people killed, because you two don't get along."

"Yeah? Well maybe you should talk to _him_ about it- Mr. Big Ego, Mr. Hidden Agenda, Mr. Me First."

Helen moved in very close and looked Will in the eye. "Will, in your professional capacity, if you had to advise someone on how to work with Nikola Tesla, would you suggest knocking him in a lake?" Helen turned and walked away, not waiting for an answer. Behind her, Will looked stunned.

Henry came over to Will, said "She's got you there Dude", and walked on past back to camp.

Dinner was quiet, partly due to the excellence of the fish, partly because no one seemed to have much to say. Nikola came out of his tent in a dry gray pinstripe suit, got a pack of animal plasma from the cooler, and went back in without saying a word. Henry was subdued, and turned in early, Biggie went off to sleep wherever he was going to sleep, and Will cleaned up and buried the fish remains away from the camp.

As Helen was about to go to her tent, Will stopped her. "Look, I'm sorry about Tesla. You're right, it wasn't the smart thing to do. But it just felt so good to get him back for all the put downs, snide remarks and sarcastic comments."

"I know, Will. Sometimes it takes a lot of patience to deal with Nikola, although in all fairness, have you ever tried standing up to him directly? Insulting him back when he belittles you? I think you would be surprised at his reaction if you did."

"I don't deal with people that way. I'm supposed to help people, not insult them."

"And you think pushing Nikola into the lake was helping him?"

"There needs to be consequences for his actions just like everybody else, so in a way, yeah. And it helped me."

"Well tomorrow you will get another opportunity to deal with Nikola. I hope you find a better way than you did today. Good night, Will." _He has to figure it out for himself,_ she thought, _otherwise Nikola will never respect him._

After Will went into his tent, she went over and tapped lightly on Nikola's tent door. He unzipped it, shoeless, tieless, and in his shirtsleeves. He grinned and said "Oh, you decided you want to share a tent after all?"

Helen laughed and shook her head. "No, I want to talk to you." She brought over the camp stool and say down outside his tent, and he sat down cross-legged on the tent floor so they could talk through the doorway.

"Nikola, are you all right?"

"Of course, I'm a vampire not the Wicked Witch of the West."

"That's not what I mean and you know it. What they did was mean and petty, but please remember how young they are, and that you _are_ hard on them sometimes."

"They're children, I treat them like children. Do you want me to treat them like adults? Nikola asked, with just a touch of menace in his voice.

"If you could just show them a little respect . . ."

"I give them respect when they deserve respect. Henry is very sharp, though inexperienced, and he does occasionally stand up to me, so sometimes he gets a little respect. The other one not so much."

"Will is very capable, he has the beginning of wisdom; and he is my second in command. He just doesn't understand you, how could he? You are like nobody else, nothing he has ever studied. Give him a chance, please."

"I won't change who I am for an ephemeral."

"Then at least promise me you won't hurt him, or allow him to be hurt if you can prevent it. For me, please, Nikola. Will just needs time, give him that."

Nikola smiled softly and sadly. "You know I can't refuse you. And I don't hurt children, no matter how annoying they are; unless they attack me, of course."

"It wasn't an attack, it was a prank. I know this is hard for you, you would rather be in an expensive hotel . . ."

"Helen, believe me, I've stayed in hotels far worse than this. I haven't even seen a single rat so far. Did I ever tell you about the time I didn't join the army?"

Helen opened her mouth, then closed it again and shook her head. The sudden change in topic had thrown her, but that was typical Nikola.

"When I was seventeen or thereabouts, I was living with my aunt. I had become very ill, almost died. When I got better, my father told me not to come home, but I was seventeen- I was quite sure I knew everything, and that was before I actually did."

Helen chuckled; Nikola kept a straight face.

"When I got home, I found out the army was drafting young men. By 'drafting' I mean barging into their houses and hauling then away for a three year exercise in brutality. My father gave me a knapsack and told me to get lost for a while. I went on a two year 'camping trip'. I live rough, no tent, hunted my own food, survived in bitter cold. By the end of that time some of my relatives had managed to get me officially out of military service and I was able to go off to college. But since then I've always disliked camping- for me, there's nothing 'fun' about it. For three days I'll put up with it, but don't expect enthusiasm, okay?"

Helen nodded. "I'm sorry, I didn't know. What have you been doing in there all day long anyway?"

"I standardized the organization of the London database and now I'm resegmenting the Mumbai database."

Helen started to get angry. "You brought a computer? I told you . . . "

"No, I'm doing it in my head. I'll do it on the computer when we get back on Monday."

Helen was stunned and uneasy at the thought that Nikola had entire Sanctuary databases in his head, but also relieved that he had obeyed her direction.

"Of course, you're doing it in your head. Well, at least one of us is achieving something useful. I don't seem to be making much progress in getting everyone to work together, except for Will and Henry. They certainly worked together today, I only wish they had had a better goal."

"You and I work together just fine." Nikola leaned toward her. "I brought a nice Pinot Noir if you'd like to come in for a drink." He gave her a suggestive leer.

Helen shook her head, smiling. Nikola never changed, which was both comforting and annoying at the same time.

"I plan to be up early tomorrow. Good night, Nikola."

She reached out and let him take her hand for just a moment, then returned the camp stool to its place and went to her tent. Behind her, she heard Nikola re-zipping his door.


	3. Chapter 3 Saturday

Saturday morning was warmer with a high cloud layer. Helen woke early, before anyone else in camp was stirring. She slipped into her bathing suit and took a towel down to the lake. She was a little surprised, but happy to see Biggie already there, in up to his belly. With his abundant hair wet and slicked to his body, she could see how powerfully he was built. He was usually so gentle she sometimes forgot his strength and potential for mayhem.

She joined him in the water and he ducked under and grabbed her ankle, pulling her completely under. She doubled over and grabbed some of the hair on his leg, tweaking it hard enough to make him release her. They came up laughing together.

"How are you doing, old friend?" Helen asked.

"Good" Biggie replied with his usual succinctness.

"You didn't eat much of the fish last night."

Biggie shrugged. "There's so much else to enjoy, food I haven't had for a while."

Helen nodded. Biggie's people lived off the land, and fall was a time of bounty for them. He rarely had access to the wild food he loved.

He suddenly looked embarrassed. "Uh, I'm not wearing swim trunks" he said, his face lowered.

_Considering how much hair you have, it hardly matters_ Helen thought, but she said "in my house you wear pants. But we're in your house now." She gestured at the sky and wilderness around them.

He looked up and saw she meant it. He was pleased to be so accepted for who he was. But he was with people who wore clothes, so he said "I'll put pants on after I dry." He waded out of the lake.

Helen swam laps parallel to the shore for half an hour. She enjoyed the room to swim in water that wasn't chlorinated. The new Sanctuary had a pool, but it had not only chlorine but other germicides as well. Too many varied species would be using it for it to be safe any other way. The water was cool, clean, and very still, and she wished she could import the whole lake to the Sanctuary.

When she finished her swim, she waded out and dried off, returning to her tent to dress. She judged it late enough to wake the others, so she put the iron grill over the fire pit and poked up the fire. She put the griddle on and started cooking bacon and pancakes. As expected, it took less than five minutes after the smell of frying bacon hit the air for Henry and Will to tumble out of their tent.

"Is that for us?" Henry asked hopefully.

"Yes, it's only fair, you caught last night's dinner for us, so I'm cooking breakfast. The three of them ate happily together; Biggie undoubtedly breakfasted in the woods. There was no stirring from Nikola's tent, but if he kept to his regular hours she wouldn't expect to see him until mid-morning. And he was probably not enjoying the bacon smell.

As soon as they were done eating, Henry turned to Will and said "The lake is really still this morning. I bet I can skip a stone more times than you."

"You're on" replied Will, "What do you want to bet?"

"My tortilla chips against that big chocolate bar." They left happily haggling over the relative value of their snacks.

"Don't be gone too long" Helen called after them, "I have plans for us for later."

She cleaned up and then sat and used her cell phone to check in with the Sanctuary. Nothing had happened overnight that her substitute team couldn't handle, so for an hour she read a book on abnormal fish species she had brought along. Having time to read something just for fun was a luxury she rarely got.

Nikola finally emerged from his tent looking as natty as ever, although his gray trousers were slightly wrinkled. She watched him try to smooth them futilely at them with his hands, and he looked up and their eyes met.

"Hell week?" she ventured.

"Hell three days" he corrected, and got a smile from her.

About that time Henry and Will returned and solemnly went to their tent where they went through a complicated exchange of food.

"Who won?" Helen asked, confused.

"I did" they both said together. "I won the stone skipping and rock bowling" added Henry. The Will said "But I won the peeing for distance and breath-holding contests."

Nikola just shook his head. Helen could see him thinking _children_, but she laughed. Biggie wandered in just then, and Helen was pleased to see he was wearing both pants and a shirt. Out here it really didn't matter, but it made him seem more part of the group.

"Fine" Helen addressed to Will and Henry. "When you have settled up, I have an activity for us. We're going to take a hike around the lake. It's about five miles, and we will follow the shore line. We will take turns leading for one mile each; alphabetically, I think. Biggie will start, then me, Henry, Nikola, and Will."

That earned half-hearted groans from Will and Henry. She snuck a peek at Nikola, but he seemed unperturbed. She hoped he was up to it. He had unusual strength as a vampire, but he never bothered with exercise. And he hadn't been seventeen in what- about 140 years?

They got ready for the hike- water bottles and snacks for Helen, Will, and Henry; Biggie needed no preparation and Tesla apparently felt no need for any. They set off counterclockwise around the lake, Biggie setting an easy pace with his slow but long strides, and choosing the most open path.

After a while Nikola murmured "One mile" from the back of the pack and Helen took the lead. He was counting again; harmless enough she supposed, as long as he didn't get obsessed and decide he had to go around the lake three times. There had been a time in his life when he would have.

No longer leading, Biggie crisscrossed the trail, reading sign, occasionally nibbling a plant. Helen moved out a bit more briskly than he had, but kept to the easiest path, hitting a deer trail now and then that let them move with only a little ducking of lower tree branches and undergrowth. Nikola was behind Will when Will pushed a strong tree branch aside and let it spring back as he passed, hitting Nikola in the face.

"Sorry" Will said "Accident, really." The cut on Nikola's cheek healed immediately, but he answered Will with only a silent scowl, curl of his lip, and a hand wave that Will should continue.

Helen glanced back but didn't stop; she fervently hoped it had been an accident. If this continued she really was going to have to referee. She had her "bum gun" with her nestled at her waistband in back. If she had to she could always shoot Nikola to keep him off of Will. She sympathized with Nikola, he was being unusually patient, but she couldn't shoot Will as much as she was starting to want to.

When Henry took over, the pace slowed and the path he led them down wandered. He took a detour to the right to check out a red and gray boulder protruding from the soil, back left to circle an exceptionally large tree, and a pause to peer into what was probably an old fox den. At the fox den pause, Biggie motioned Helen over to the lake shore and pointed at the soft ground.

There were very large paw prints there, with long toes and claw pricks several inches out from the pads.

"Grizzly bear?" Helen asked, concerned.

Biggie grunted semi-agreement. "Very big Grizzly bear, maybe. But I don't think so. Too big, shape of the foot is wrong. I've never seen tracks like this before."

"I've never seen bears around her before, which I suppose is odd enough in itself. If it's not a bear . . . In any case we'd better get back to camp quickly and make sure the food is secured." _And do something about that tent full of snacks_ she thought. "When were these tracks made?"

"Pretty fresh. Last night, I think, maybe early this morning."

Nikola, Will and Henry had walked over and heard the exchange. Helen looked at Nikola. "Forward or back?" she asked him, not sure which distance was less.

"Forward" he answered confidently.

"Onward then. Henry, no more dawdling."

Henry moved out smartly then, and soon Nikola took over. He moved more quickly, sliding over logs and around bushes gracefully, always keeping the straightest line possible. The rest of the team barely kept up.

When Will took over, he did his best to keep up the pace and follow Nikola's pattern, but a second mile of that cost all of them. By the time they arrived back at the meadow, they were all showing the strain. Henry and Will looked exhausted, Helen and Nikola were perspiring, and even Biggie was breathing heavily.

They stopped at the edge of the tree line, appalled at what they saw out in the meadow.

The camp was a shambles; tents ripped up, scraps of cloth scattered all over, both coolers dumped; the camp was just a smear on the landscape.

Biggie held up a hand for them all to stay quiet, and listened intently. Henry half transformed and used his sensitive wolf nose to check the air.

"Nothing around here now" Biggie announced, and Henry nodded agreement. They walked over to the jumble and started picking their way through the mess, seeing what they could salvage.

Then Will said "Oh no" and pointed across the meadow. The van was on its side.

They all went over to examine it. It had very large dents in it, and three of the four tires were shredded.

"That wasn't done by a bear" Will said quietly. No one disputed him. With no food in the van there was no reason for any normal animal to pay any attention to it, and turning it over wasn't something that could have been done casually or accidently.

"Time to call for help" Helen said, and reached into her pocket. "Damn. I left the phone in my tent."

"Don't worry, we'll find it" Henry said. And they searched for the next hour, but they didn't find the phone. There was no trace of the axe or shovel, every bit of cloth had been torn or shredded, even the coolers were cracked and broken. Whatever or whoever had destroyed the camp had done a very thorough job in eliminating anything useful.

Nikola stood gazing mournfully at broken wine bottles and the remains of his suits where his tent had been. He checked the areas around the coolers, but found only squashed and broken bags of his animal plasma.

"I think we should leave immediately" he said in a conversational tone.

Helen looked up. They had spent most of the afternoon sifting through the rubble, and the sun was far to the west. They had only a couple of hours of daylight left.

She turned to Biggie; he was her wilderness expert. "Do you think we should leave or stay the night and go in the morning when we have enough daylight to make it to the highway?"

"It came during daylight, it may be a day hunter not a night hunter. But there are other things out at night, and it would be dangerous to walk in the dark. We should stay in the van overnight, walk out in the morning."

"That makes sense" Helen agreed. "Will, Henry, take our empty water bottles and refill them from the lake. It's reasonably clean, and we haven't anything to boil the water in anyway." She could see by the look on Nikola's face that he wouldn't touch lake water. Ever since he had looked through a microscope over a century ago and seen microorganisms, he had been picky about what he drank.

"And get a couple of stout branches for clubs just in case. Biggie, Nikola, see if you can right the van. Even though it's not drivable, it will be more comfortable upright. From now on, we are using the buddy system, no one goes anywhere alone."

The team worked smoothly together, petty irritations put aside for now. The three bottles were refilled, and the larger scraps of tent and bedroll remains were taken to the van for bedding once it was righted. Nikola and Biggie had no difficulty getting the van on its tires, although it tilted sitting on one good tire and three flat ones. They stuffed fabric in the holes left by two broken windows.

Biggie scavenged some rather tasteless leaves and some raspberries for dinner, and afterwards they piled in and arranged the sleeping accommodations the best they could. Nikola declined, offering to keep watch.

Helen looked around the crowded vehicle. This wasn't how she had planned to get everyone working together, but it had achieved her purpose, at least temporarily. Now if they could only get out safely.

They would need to come back with a team and tackle whatever had systematically destroyed the camp. She was afraid it was too intelligent by far to be a bear, but she couldn't see what the bear or whatever it was had been trying to achieve, other than driving the five of them away. It could be very territorial, or just interested in the food, but she had no theory for the extreme level of destruction committed.

Nikola perched on top of the van, as the others settled down to sleep. He was used to being up all night, and since he was the hardest of them to kill or even seriously damage it made sense for him to keep watch. Besides, he had no desire to be squashed into the van with the others and their germs. If it had just been Helen, though, that would have been very different.

He amused himself stargazing. He hadn't seen so many stars since he had been a boy in rural Croatia, and it was entertaining picking out constellations and distant galaxies. He didn't try to count them though.


	4. Chapter 4 Sunday Morning

The night passed uneventfully. In the morning, everyone trooped back to the wrecked camp site for trips to the latrine, which had survived the carnage, and one last search for anything usable. The water bottles were refilled at the lake once more. Henry found a bag of gummy bears that had been stepped on but not split open, and he shared them with Helen and Will for breakfast. Then Biggie brought in more raspberries, and they all shared those as well, except Nikola. Helen was starting to be concerned about him, it was now Sunday morning and he hadn't eaten since Friday night. Physically he seemed fine for now. It wasn't unusual for him to go 24 hours without eating or sleeping when he was intent on a project, but that was voluntary and this wasn't.

She took him aside and asked quietly "Do you have your medication?" The medication the two of them concocted so long ago was still what he needed to keep his vampirism under his own control.

He shook his head. "It was in my case." Seeing her concerned look, he added "Yes, I'm hungry but my control is fine. As long as we get back to the Sanctuary by tonight, no problem."

Helen looked at him closely, trying to tell if he was telling the entire truth but his face told her nothing; he was an excellent liar when he chose to be. If Nikola lost control of his vampire appetites they could all be in danger from him as well as the giant superbear that was somewhere in the area. She inwardly cringed a bit at the name "superbear", it sounded like a cartoon character which this definitely was not, but it was what Henry and Will were calling it now. Well, there was nothing she could do for Nikola at the moment, she could only keep an eye on him.

"Let's get moving" she said to the group. "It's nearly 20 miles to the main road, if we keep a good pace we'll be out of here by this afternoon and home by nightfall."

Nikola muttered "Twenty-three and a half miles" but too quietly for anyone but her to hear. No reason to discourage the younglings.

The dirt track the van had come through was at least reasonably clear and easy to walk down. They kept a steady pace, not too fast. This was an endurance test, not a race.

Twenty minutes down the trail they came on a tree down across the way. It was a good sized pine, about 12 inches in diameter, and it hadn't been there when they drove in. The trunk had snapped off near the ground, and there were heavy claw marks at the break and more about 15 feet up the trunk.

"Maybe we should get off the road" suggested Will in the silence that followed that discovery. Everyone was looking around uneasily, but there were no indications of any animals nearby other than a couple of squirrels chasing around in a small copse of trees a short distance away.

Helen considered, then said "No, we can make better time on the road, and I doubt being in the woods would hide us from a creature that lives in the forest. We'll make more noise for one thing and it won't change our scent. Everyone keep alert." Biggie nodded his approval.

They edged around and over the tree and continued, walking faster. Another 15 minutes and they heard something large moving in some bushes and trees near the road ahead of them, but whatever it was, it was out of sight.

Biggie said "I'll scout" but Helen grabbed him by the shirt and said "No, stay together." She reached behind her and pulled out her small flat automatic. Henry stripped, handing his clothes to Will who bundled them in the jacket and used the arms to make a sling that he put over his head and one shoulder. Will held his club ready, and Henry completely transformed into his "wolf" state. Nikola had already vamped, fangs and claws ready. They waited, focusing on the noise in front of them.

The charge came almost silently from _behind_ them. The five of them spun around to meet a huge, angry mountain of shaggy brown fur. It was generally bear-like, but the limbs were longer in proportion to its body, the head rounded on top instead of flat, its feet had opposable thumbs, and it was far larger than any bear that ever lived. It was moving on its hind feet, faster than any normal bear could.

Helen put two bullets into it before it reached them with no visible effect, then Henry and Nikola closed with it so she didn't dare shoot. Henry sprang up, trying for the neck from the side; Nikola went low, using speed to go under the front legs, trying for the belly. Biggie was circling to the rear. Will was woefully underarmed with his club, and could only wait by Helen to try to defend her if it got past the rest of the team.

It saw Henry first, and batted him out of the air into a tree trunk. He yelped when his side hit the tree and fell heavily to the ground. Nikola was using his claws underneath, but was having a hard time penetrating the superbear's hair and hide. Brown fur was flying, but then it reached down and grabbed him in one front paw. Its claws went deep into his chest and back, and it lifted him into the air, its roar mingling with his scream. Nikola tried to pry the paw open and get the claws out, snarling into the thing's face as he worked.

Then another roar answered from behind them.

"Bloody hell!" yelled Helen, turning to see a slightly smaller version of the thing in front of them emerging from the trees where they had originally heard the noises. The second superbear was quickly on the road and heading for them. She fired into it, emptying her clip and changing it for a fresh one. The creature squalled and hesitated, blood staining its fur on its chest and belly.

She turned back to the larger creature in time to see Nikola use his fangs to bite deeply into the paw that held him. The superbear reacted violently, throwing him away from it with a spray of blood. He landed in a dense thicket of bushes and disappeared from view. Henry was up again, holding his side but using the distraction to get behind the creature. Biggie was pulling one hind leg and he grabbed the other. Together they unbalanced the superbear and it fell forward. Helen waited for an opening to fire, but Henry and Biggie were too close and the creature was moving too much for her to risk it.

From behind the smaller creature suddenly roared and charged on all fours, moving at a terrifying speed. It ran past Helen and Will before they could fully turn, knocking them to the side. Will managed to get in one smack with his club to its shoulder as it charged past but he was off balance and couldn't put much force into the blow. Helen was knocked down hard and lost her gun and water bottle in the grass and leaves.

Henry and Biggie were trying to reach the larger superbear's head or neck where it might be vulnerable, but it was getting back to its feet despite their combined weight. The smaller superbear reached them and brushed them off of its companion with two swipes of its paws, raking them with its claws.

The team was losing. Their only chance was to get away from the two creatures, now both wounded to some extent and very angry. Will yelled "run!" and pulled Helen to her feet while she was struggling to regain her breath. He began to drag her off into the woods, trying to get them out of sight as quickly as possible. Helen fought him at first, looking back to see if the rest of her team was able to escape.

She looked for Nikola, but he still hadn't emerged from the bushes where he had been tossed. Biggie was up on his feet and so was Henry; Biggie motioned for Henry to follow him and they ran into the woods across the road from Helen and Will.

They went no more than 50 feet from the road when Biggie led them down into a ravine with a tiny creek at the bottom. Henry hadn't known it was there, it was nearly invisible until they were right on it, but he was sure Biggie had known. Henry was surprised at the pain in his leg when he slid down the slope. He hadn't been aware of the leg injury during the fight, but he was bleeding from a long gash in his calf. He stayed in wolf form- he had three good legs instead of just one to help him get away from the wounded animals behind them.

His nose told him Biggie was injured as well, he could smell a little blood, but he couldn't tell how badly. Not badly enough to stop Biggie from leading them out of the area, but that meant little. Biggie was tough; it had taken what- five or six bullets at close range for the fake priest to stop him? And even then, Biggie hadn't gone down until he finished with the "priest". Henry tried not to think of the pain in his ribs and leg, focusing his attention as much as possible on the big hairy form moving quickly down the ravine in front of him.

When Helen saw Biggie and Henry disappear safely into the woods, she willingly ran with Will. Her last sight of the superbears was the two of them paying attention to each other and ignoring her and her team. When she and Will were out of sight and hopefully upwind, they stopped and caught their breath. She stood listening intently to be sure the superbears weren't coming after them, but could hear nothing except their own panting and the soft rustling of the colorful leaves in the trees around them.

"I think we lost them" she whispered. She had no idea how good the superbears' hearing was, and didn't want to attract them. Will nodded and whispered back "Which way?"

She looked around. She didn't know exactly where they were, but the position of the sun behind the clouds hadn't changed so she knew approximately which direction they had to go to reach the paved road. The only question was, should they go on or go back and try to rejoin the rest of the team?

"Did you see where Biggie and Henry went when they ran? Did you see Nikola come out of those bushes?" she asked Will quietly. Will was very observant and he hadn't been gasping for breath as she had been when they ran, he may have seen something she missed.

But he shook his head. "I didn't see him. Biggie and Henry went the other way, into the woods on the other side of the road. Do you think we can get to them?"

Helen made a quick decision. "No. Those creatures are injured and doubly dangerous, they may stay in this area or den up somewhere, we have no way of knowing. But if we run into them again, we can't possibly defend ourselves and I'm sure we couldn't outrun them. We were extremely fortunate to get away uninjured. Let's find a phone and summon help."

"Why did they attack us? We never did anything to them."

Helen said in a low voice "I don't know. But their intelligence level is far higher than most animals. Did you notice they actually set two traps for us? The first by knocking down that tree just in case we got the van running, and then one of them made a noise in front of us and the other attacked from behind. If I had realized how incredibly dangerous they are I wouldn't have kept us overnight or stayed on the road where they could ambush us. We might all be fine and on our way home if I had only understood that sooner. This whole debacle is my fault."

"Hey, don't take all the blame. I knew when I saw the van we were dealing with something unusual, and it didn't occur to me either that they would actively hunt us or set traps for us. We both screwed up, but everything may turn out alright yet. The whole team got away, and we're all smart enough to make it out safely."

"Henry was injured, but Biggie will look after him. I'm worried about Nikola" Helen said with a frown. "He was injured and still in those bushes. If those creatures find him while he's healing, he could be in trouble. Although when he's healing he generally is quiet and still; playing dead when injured is a vampire survival mechanism. I hope those creatures don't notice him and he'll be able to slip away later."

"You think a city boy like him can make it back to civilization on his own?"

Helen nodded. "Absolutely. You'd be surprised what Nikola can do." _I know he surprises __me__; it's part of what makes him interesting._

They started the long trek to the highway.


	5. Chapter 5 Separated

Nikola came back to full wakefulness slowly. His chest still hurt; his ribs weren't quite aligned properly yet. He stretched his torso and felt his bones adjust into place, his ribs reattaching to his sternum. Much better, except for the taste in his mouth. He spat out a couple of coarse brown hairs. _What a foul tasting beast_.

He lay still, listening. It was very quiet, the battle was definitely over. He wondered how long he'd been out. He had been badly injured, but it seemed as if healing had taken longer than it should have. Above him on a tree branch, a red squirrel chattered angrily as he sat up, and a couple of small birds flitted away.

He got up and worked his way out of the thicket. At least he hadn't landed in anything with thorns. He could smell blood, though, besides his own staining his ripped clothing; another suit destroyed.

He went out to the road and started reconstructing what he had missed. He found some of Helen's shell casings, and walked a blood trail down the road away from where he had fought. It ended in a large splatter of superbear blood, and he turned and walked back up the road.

_Superbear- ridiculous name, sounds like a sports team with an inferiority complex_ he thought. _And they criticized me for the Devamper_.

Where the first creature had been there was quite a lot of blood too. His vampire senses were quite informative about blood. He scented superbear blood from both beasts, his own blood, a little HAP blood and just a bit of Sasquatch. But he had found no vanilla human blood or Source blood other than his own the whole length of the blood trail.

So Will and Helen were relatively uninjured, that was a relief. Helen didn't have his recuperative powers, and if Will had been injured she would lug him all the way to safety, even if it put her at risk. She did get attached to ephemerals. Nikola could understand that, there had been humans he had liked more than a little, but it was painful to watch them age and die. How she carried on through that over and over was what he didn't understand.

He tracked the HAP and Sasquatch blood to a nearby ravine. He could see where they had slid down to the creek at the bottom. They would be hard to track there. He could feel the humidity rising, and the cloud cover was growing. It would rain soon. With only two slide patterns down it was just Henry and Biggie though, Helen and Will hadn't come this way. Well, if Henry was with Biggie he would be safe enough; and he would likely lose their trail when it started to rain. Neither had been bleeding much at the point they had entered the ravine, and a rising creek would obliterate their sign.

He walked back to where he had last seen Helen, thinking about Henry. Heinrich was actually useful around the lab, and he took whatever verbal darts Nikola chose to throw and sometimes even tossed a few back. Nikola liked the verbal sparring, but lately Henry had done nothing but run in and out setting up security and grumping about his destroyed belongings. The only way Nikola had been able to get his attention was to take his tools and hide them among his own equipment. Henry hadn't even caught on that Nikola didn't need a rock drill to consolidate the computer database, that was how distracted he was. Nikola had needed Henry to stop and look at what he was doing with the massive combined database since Heinrich was going to have to maintain it when Nikola left. Stealing his tools was the only way he could think of to make Henry slow down long enough to get him to actually look at and listen to a minute or two of explanation here and there.

Nikola frowned a little. Why was he thinking about Henry? He needed to stay focused, and he certainly didn't need his mind wandering like that. Well, he was really tired and ravenous after doing major healing, that was some excuse, but he was glad no one was around to catch him daydreaming.

He reached the area Helen had been shooting from and extended his electromagnetic senses. He ignored the shell casings, but got two other "hits" and found an empty clip and her fully loaded little gun buried in the grass and leaves. He put them in his pocket to give back to her later.

He walked around in widening circles. He found a bit of a trail in the long grass, but no indication it had been made by Helen and Will; it could be a deer trail, although being the only sign he had found he thought it was likely them.

So Helen and Will were on one side of the road, probably heading back toward the highway. Henry and Biggie were on the other side of the road heading the opposite way down a ravine. The trail of the two superbears was obvious, they had headed north and nowhere near either group.

He likely wouldn't catch Biggie and Henry if he chased after them and would be left in the woods on his own, so scratch that option. He could follow Helen and Will or just head back to the paved road, but that was boring. They didn't need his help and he would just end up back working on the database. The database could wait.

On the other hand, there were these large, odd, dangerous beasts and he was very curious about them. They didn't look to him like anything that could have appeared naturally, although there were enough very strange abnormals out there to leave him open to the possibility. The blood trail from them was very strong and they left a wide swath of flattened grass and disturbed leaves behind them; a little rain wouldn't wash it away.

If he got back to the Sanctuary with more information about them, especially where they might be found, Helen would be pleased. And getting back late would make her worry about him which wasn't all bad. She was usually much nicer to him after she had been worried about him, at least for a while.

Nikola smiled a little. Even with being filthy and bloody and having three more of his suits destroyed- he went through a lot of suits around Helen- he was suddenly starting to enjoy this camping trip. The wind favored him too, gusting the superbear's scent back toward him rather than vice versa. Time to have some fun.

/

Henry shifted back to his human form. He wasn't used to staying in "wolf" form for long. Biggie was some distance ahead; Henry didn't want to call out and attract attention to them, so he sat down and waited. Biggie would come back, and meanwhile he checked his injured leg.

The cut was long, but only deep in one small area where the creature's claw had first caught him. The rest was merely a scratch. His ribs were sore and a large bruise had formed on his side where he had hit the tree, but he didn't feel the sharp pain that would indicate anything was broken. The most uncomfortable thing was his nudity and the fact that he was getting cold. The temperature had dropped and the clouds were very dark.

Biggie came splashing back. "Henry? Why have you stopped?"

Henry showed him his leg and asked "Hey, you wouldn't want to share that shirt, would you?"

Biggie just peeled out of his shirt and pants, handing Henry the pants. The shirt had a long slice across the chest, but there was no sign of a wound on Biggie other than a little dried blood on his hair.

"Are you okay?" Henry asked.

Biggie grunted "Fine, hardly broke the skin. I dodged, unlike someone else I know."

Biggie began tearing up the shirt for bandages and a belt. His pants would be way too large for Henry. He cleaned the cut on Henry's leg as well as he could with part of the shirt and creek water and bandaged it. He poked gently at his ribs, making Henry gasp and say a few bad words. Biggie's diagnosis was "maybe cracked" and he used most of the rest of the shirt to wrap Henry's ribs. The remaining strips of shirt were tied together for a belt for the over-large pants.

Looking at himself, Henry just felt ridiculous. He looked like a little kid in adult clothes, the belt at his waist well below the waistband of the pants, and the pant legs rolled half way up the legs to clear the ground. Well maybe nobody but Biggie would see him, and at least he was a little warmer.

Henry wasn't sure exactly what direction they had been traveling, but he was pretty sure it wasn't back toward the highway. "Hey where are we headed?" he asked. "Isn't the main road back that way?"

Biggie nodded. "Going to the closest help. Going to rain soon, need shelter and food."

"You mean there's a town or something around here?"

"No, no town. Come, you'll see." That was all Henry could get out of Biggie.

He followed him down the ravine. Just as it started to rain lightly, Biggie turned and climbed up out of the gully and helped Henry out. The area here was hillier, even somewhat rocky in places. Biggie acted like he knew where they were going, but Henry became more and more concerned. This area seemed even wilder and less inhabited than where they had camped.

They walked for a few minutes, then Biggie halted. There was nothing at all special about the spot as far as Henry could see. Then Biggie let out a weird series of loud hooting and grunting sounds that seemed almost to be recognizable words. It was like nothing Henry had ever heard before. He felt the hair stand up on the back of his neck when similar sounds answered them from a distance. Biggie hooted again, then went forward. Henry stuck close.

Another Sasquatch emerged from around a rock in front of them. He was as tall as Biggie, perhaps a little broader, and a slightly darker color. Henry stared round-eyed. He had always had the impression Biggie had left his community under a cloud of some kind, and he wasn't welcome back. Henry was scared the two big Sasquatches were going to fight, or at least that he and Biggie would be turned away.

But while the two Sasquatches seemed wary of each other, there was no fighting. They spoke in their odd grunting and hooting language with rising and falling inflections that seemed familiar. After a number of exchanges and some gesturing at Henry that made him a little nervous, the unfamiliar Sasquatch turned and led them past some rocks to a cave.

The darker Bigfoot turned at the entrance and said haltingly to Henry "I Bud. We make cave for winter. You come."

Henry nodded politely, introduced himself and thanked Bud. He wasn't sure how much Bud understood, but he figured Biggie would translate if necessary.

Inside the cave was dry and warmer than outside, with mounds of grass, some dry and some fresh, and some that had been made into a nest and slept on. There were piles of roots, nuts, and berries spread out to dry. All in all it was quite cozy.

Bud came back with an odd smelling greenish paste and gave it to Biggie, who sniffed it and nodded. Biggie made Henry sit down and unwrapped Henry's leg and applied the paste liberally. He said "No infection now" and rewrapped the wound.

Henry ventured "Bud's a friend of yours, huh?" to Biggie. Biggie didn't reply immediately, thinking over his answer first.

"Acquaintance, not friend. But since I asked for help for hurt human, he could not refuse us. Wouldn't be hospitable. Eat what you want of the food, there's water in a pool in the back."

Henry and Biggie both ate. Henry asked "Is Bud really his name?" It just seemed too human to be real.

"Sure, just as much as Big Guy is my name" Biggie replied with a chuckle.

Henry was startled. His whole life as far back as he could remember he had known Biggie by that name, but had never thought that it might not be his actual name. On the other hand, who named their baby "Big Guy"?

Biggie seemed to read his thoughts. "You couldn't pronounce my True Name."

"But . . . " started Henry.

"Henry, I chose to be called 'Big Guy', so it's as much my name as anything else."

Further questions only resulted in a head shake from Biggie. He had said all he was going to say.

At least they were comfortable for the night. Henry suddenly realized why the rising and falling inflections had seemed familiar. Biggie spoke English the same way. Henry drifted off to sleep wondering what they were going to do tomorrow.

/

Helen and Will walked steadily, resting occasionally. Will still had his water bottle, which they shared since Helen had lost hers in the fight. They kept steadily on, heading for the paved road. When it clouded over and started to rain Will wondered how Helen was able to maintain her direction, but he trusted her abilities. He tried to remember unusual looking trees just in case they passed them again, but they didn't as far as he could tell. It just seemed to be an awfully long 20 miles, especially when the bundle of Henry's clothes he was still carrying occasionally snagged on something.

At one rest stop, he asked her "Do you think we can get a local rescue team in here before dark?"

She gave him a surprised look. "Will, we can't bring civilians into this area with those creatures, it's too dangerous. By the time we get out and contact the Sanctuary it won't be earlier than tomorrow morning before we can expect a team to arrive."

"Henry and Big Guy are back there . . . and Tesla" he added reluctantly. "A lot could happen to them before tomorrow."

"I know. But there's really nothing I can do except trust Henry, Biggie, and Nikola to take care of themselves. They are all capable and experienced."

"What about those creatures; do you think there are more of them?" Will asked. He didn't want to dwell on what might be happening to his friends, or even Tesla.

"Possibly, but not necessarily. If there's a breeding population the woods could be full of them, or they could be a recent mutation and be very few in numbers. But I don't believe they're natural. There is no previous record of any creatures like them, there is nothing around here to cause such an extreme mutation, and a vanishingly small likelihood that such a mutation would be viable."

"So where did they come from?"

"That's what I'd like to know. I'm very much afraid there is something going on here that I am not going to like. Those superbears could have been deliberately created."

"Maybe" Will replied thoughtfully, "but there's nothing we can do about it now. When we get back we can get an air search and check the local power grid for energy usage and see if there's anything odd in the area."

Helen nodded. "If those creatures were created, then there could be some sort of facility in this area, and that means logistics- supply lines, an access road, personnel housing, et cetera."

Will didn't like the look on her face. "Magnus, there's just the two of us. We're exhausted, we have no weapons and no idea of what we would be getting into. We need to contact the Sanctuary and get help and get our team out safely."

"Yes, and we need to protect the general public as well. That's a major part of why the Sanctuary exists. The quicker we can investigate this the less likely it is that anyone else will encounter those beasts" she said.

With a sinking feeling Will realized she would turn their escape into a mission at the drop of a clue. He knew she believed she could take on anything, by herself if necessary, and succeed. Will had to admit to himself that he's never seen her fail, but there was always a first time. And she really believed that Henry, Biggie, and Tesla could and would take care of themselves and get out safely. Given the chance, she would instigate the investigation into those creatures on her own.

It was raining steadily when they finally emerged from the forest. They had strayed from the straight path to the highway somewhat, and actually emerged into the parking lot of the convenience store they'd hit on the way in. Will wondered if she had planned it that way, but didn't ask.

Late Sunday it was closed, of course, but there was a fairly large truck with an enclosed cargo space backed up to the rear of the store. No one seemed to be around.

They approached the truck but neither called out. They had both learned caution over the years. They looked around carefully. The back of the truck was mostly closed to keep out the rain. The back door to the store was closed as well.

Will went to knock on the back door, but Helen stopped him. "Let's check it out first" she said softly, heading to the truck. Will followed her reluctantly. He really just wanted to get back to civilization and sit down; his feet hurt.

Helen pulled the truck cargo door up a couple of feet and ducked in. Will followed. The first thing he saw was a pile of large bags, each labeled "Monkey Chow". Helen looked in a large Styrofoam box, reached in and held up a frozen chicken. They looked around and then at each other. The contents of the truck didn't look too different from one that might make a delivery for the Sanctuary.

Helen grinned and said softly "Logistics- I think we're on to something." She nodded at the door and Will replied quietly "Do you really think there's anything we can do by ourselves?"

"Of course. At the very least we can reconnoiter."

Will sighed, and closed the truck door down to where it had been before. Wordlessly they both climbed past the Monkey Chow and nestled in behind the bags and crates. Will used Henry's clothing bundle as a pillow in back of him, although the shoes inside were a little lumpy. They hadn't long to wait before the door clanged shut and the truck started up. Will didn't know where they were going, but he was pretty sure it wasn't to a perfectly innocent zoo hidden back in the woods.

Will considered his tired, aching feet. Well, at least they didn't have to walk.


	6. Chapter 6 Sunday Evening

Nikola stopped and stood still, listening intently and watching the birds circle in the sky. Crows, some sort of buzzard maybe, he wasn't that up on the local fauna. One by one the birds dropped below the tree line and he moved forward, stopping every few paces to listen again. The spoor he had followed clearly indicated two of those superbears, and he doubted both had died.

When he got within 50 feet he smelled skunk. He relaxed then, they wouldn't be there if there was anything big and alive around. He circled around the center of all the activity. He had no desire to be sprayed by the skunk, but he wanted to confirm his suspicion. He finally reached a vantage point where he could see the mound of dead brown furry creature being fed on.

He continued circling until he cut the trail of the second creature again. It was late, but there was still some light. The rain had let up and he needed to follow the trail as far as he could tonight. This beast was not bleeding anymore, unfortunately, so there wasn't going to be as much trail to follow.

He had only the vaguest idea where he was. His only connection to arriving anywhere was the trail in front of him, and he felt more and more that the creature had a specific destination. The trail hadn't meandered at all, but headed fairly consistently north. But from the ground he couldn't see anything but trees and if there was something out there to be found, he could easily walk within a few yards of it and never see it if he lost the trail.

He sped up a little. He didn't want to actually catch the creature, he had tangled with it once and that was enough. He hadn't been too close behind it before, but it would have been slowed by its dying companion, and may have lingered in the area when the second creature stopped moving. He couldn't hear it ahead of him, but would he? It hadn't been noisy charging on the dirt track, but he had no idea how quietly it would normally move in the woods.

He tracked steadily until he completely lost the light. It was still cloudy, so no appreciable moonlight. His vampire vision was better at night than his human, so he vamped. He wished he could stop to hunt. There were deer in the woods, and he was becoming increasingly hungry; deer blood was fairly tasty in spite of the hair. He had had only that one pack of plasma Friday night, nothing else for two days and he'd had to do some major healing. He growled softly in frustration every time he scented potential prey, but resisted the temptation and continued tracking.

The track suddenly merged into an actual trail with beaten, rutted earth. He paused, wondering if he should rest for a while; this trail he wasn't going to lose. But curiosity and darkness moved him forward.

He soon came to a seven foot high stone wall with a large wooden gate in it that was currently closed. Casting his electromagnetic sense forward, he detected nothing- no cameras or sensors at all; not even barbed wire on the wall. How convenient.

He slid over the gate. The ruts under the gate were deep enough he could have gone under, but why get muddy? He was already soaked to the skin, that was quite enough thank you. But at least the rain had rinsed most of the blood out of his clothes, leaving just the holes and indeterminate stains.

The trail led to a barn of sorts and past large, currently barred double doors. He approached and listened intently. Nothing. He lifted the bar and eased open a door. There was faint lighting, and he could see chain link fencing a few feet from the door creating a small protected place around the entry. The fence door into the area beyond was chained and padlocked, but he had no need to go further, and there was no danger. He de-vamped, no longer needing exceptional night vision.

He could see the second superbear lying unmoving in a thick layer of straw in a large enclosure. The creature's cage was surrounded on the other sides by a four foot high concrete wall with with iron bars embedded in the top that reached to the ceiling. It snuffled a little at his presence, but otherwise didn't react. It appeared nearly dead.

Through the bars he could see other smaller enclosures down the sides of the building. He could only see creatures in two of them, but there could be others behind the low walls. What he could see was a huge black cat-like creature lying on a log that was propped up against the outer wall in one enclosure, and some small reddish brown fluffs that bounced around another glassed in cage. The cat had a mane, bifurcated tail and four blue eyes; he couldn't make out details on the fluffs.

The superbear suddenly strained, lifting its head and gasping for air, and then fell back, dead. Nikola had seen enough. He backed out, scuffing his footprints, and closed and barred the outer door.

He slunk around the side of the building. There were other large buildings nearby, but none offered more than dim night lighting. He could hear men's voices in conversation somewhere at a distance to the left. He had more interest in whoever was in charge of this place than in workmen or odd beasts.

There was an expanse of lawn between him and a large well-lit house; actually it was more like a mansion. He debated with himself, and then decided on the bold approach. He stood up straight and strolled casually across the lawn to what was apparently a back door. No alarms went off; no one yelled or challenged him. He knocked on the door.

It took a minute or two, but finally the door was opened by a surprised, small, middle-aged woman in an apron. She gaped at him and he spoke before she could recover her composure.

"Good evening, I seem to be very lost. Could I come in?" He smiled pleasantly and sidled in past her before she could object.

"You can't just come in here, this is private property" she protested. He kept smiling and made no move to leave, just stood there dripping quietly. She looked at him in dismay, then hurried across the room and pushed a button on a wall panel. Somewhere a bell rang. In response, a large man in a suit entered the room. He was as tall as Nikola but more heavily built, with very short brown hair.

"Who are you? What do you want?" he asked belligerently. He did not seem very friendly, but Nikola gave him his most ingratiating smile. "Very sorry to barge in, but I've been lost in the woods all day. I tried to take a shortcut when my car broke down, but I'm afraid I'm not exactly Daniel Boone."

The man looked at the puddle at Nikola's feet and his torn clothing and sighed. He gestured at a chair at a small table in the large, clean kitchen.

"Please sit. My name is George and I will notify the master you are here. You understand uninvited guests are generally not welcome, but . . ." He gestured at Nikola's condition. "Your name?"

Nikola sat, crossing his legs and looking completely at ease. "Nikolaa-s Thomas. Might I have something to drink, I'm quite thirsty." He had suddenly realized that he might just have made a tiny error. Someone who deals with abnormals to the extent of housing or even creating them might have heard of him, and George was obviously security, not a servant.

Why hadn't he stopped at the numerous outbuildings and fed? Surely there was something out there besides superbears and other dangerous abnormals. Even a cow would have done, but he had let his curiosity overcome his sense- nothing new there. He was more tired and hungry than he had realized, and he was making mistakes.

George gave a curt nod at the woman and left. She crossed her arms and asked "What would you like? Coffee or tea?"

"I would prefer a nice burgundy, if you have it."

The woman just grinned at that, and it transformed her mouse-like appearance. "I'm Annette, the cook. And I'll see what I can find." She left by another door. Nikola considered exploring now that he was alone, but he would leave a trail of muddy water behind if he did, and he didn't know when George would be back. He decided to behave like a good little guest for now, and besides, at the moment sitting down in a clean dry room was distinctly pleasant.

Annette came back with a bottle and a glass, uncorked the bottle and poured for him. Nikola thanked her politely and was enjoying the bouquet when the security type returned. If he was surprised to find Nikola with a glass of wine in his hand he didn't show it.

"Mr. Arthur will be in in a moment. There's a bit of a crisis in one of the outbuildings and he is seeing to it." George then stationed himself by the door in a posture that looked suspiciously like a military "at ease" to Nikola. Ex-military probably, doing his job containing the unwanted guest in the kitchen.

Nikola sipped quietly at his wine, which was good, but he'd had better. George remained unmoving. Annette looked from one to the other, shook her head and left the kitchen. The kitchen clock ticked loudly in the silence.

Eventually there was the sound of voices beyond the door, and it opened to reveal a fit-looking man of about 50 with thinning blond hair. He was in shirtsleeves and wiping his hands on a towel, but Nikola noted his shirt, slacks, and shoes were all quite expensive, and the man showed no concern for them at all. This man was extremely wealthy and had been for a long time. This was no fly-by-night operation.

"Mr. Thomas, welcome to my home." The words were welcoming, but the tone was perfunctory. "Excuse my appearance, we've had a generator break down, and on Sunday of course we can't get service. My foreman and I have been trying to get it going."

Nikola was wary now. The man had basically ordered him to excuse him, and undoubtedly expected everyone to do what he wanted them to. Nikola knew he could ingratiate himself- should he?

First things first. Nikola said "Of course I am most grateful to have stumbled on your estate. I have been wandering all day and I lost my phone. Might I borrow one to call home? I am sure someone is worried about me by now."

Mr. Arthur nodded at George, and he handed over a cell phone. When he opened his coat to take it out of his inside coat pocket, Nikola saw the flash of a gun in a shoulder holster.

No one left the room. Apparently they were both going to stand there and listen to his conversation. That complicated things a little.

Nikola tried Helen's number and then remembered her phone was gone. He shook his head at his lapse and tried the Sanctuary number, not sure who would answer or how much he could convey with an audience.

He got an unfamiliar voice on the other end. "Uh, this is Nicholas. Is Helen there?" Of course she wouldn't be there yet, that was supposed to be a clue, but the person on the other end didn't get it and just said she wasn't available. "How about Declan?"

Nikola was left on hold. He shrugged at the two men watching him and waited.

Soon Declan came on the line. Okay, attempt number two. "This is Nicholas, I got separated from the rest of the group and my car broke down. I just wanted to let you know that I'm safe, not wandering around in the woods anymore. I'm at . . . " Nikola looked to the two men.

"I'm sorry Mr. Thomas, there's no mailing address here. If you like you can stay the night and I'll have someone take you to town in the morning" said Mr. Arthur.

Nikola nodded in apparent gratitude. "Yes, well I'm at a rather lovely house- mansion really- somewhere in the forest, but a very kind gentleman named Mr. Arthur will see that I get to town tomorrow, so don't worry. Where is Helen by the way?"

Declan was quite confused. "Who is this? Nicholas who? Is this Tesla? Why are you calling yourself Nicholas? What are you up to?"

"Well, just tell her I said hello when she gets back, okay? I hope she has some of those sweet rolls I like too- what are they called, bear claws? Alright, I'll call again tomorrow."

Declan was still sputtering questions when Nikola hung up and handed the phone back. That was the best he could do. If Declan reported the conversation to Helen when she got back, she would understand and find this place. Of course, Mr. Arthur could actually be a nice man who would see him safely back to civilization tomorrow, but Nikola doubted it. Especially since he didn't intend to keep acting the good guest role forever.

Nikola wasn't sure if his next move was the right one, but earning himself some good will might end up being crucial later.

"Thank you sir, my family will be much less worried now. And perhaps I can repay you. By profession I am an electrical engineer, so I may be able to help with your generator."

Mr. Arthur's eyebrows raised in disbelief. "That would be an unbelievable coincidence- to have a repairman wander to my door just when I need one."

_Engineer, not repairman_, Nikola thought, but he kept his expression cheerful and pleasant. "Perhaps you did something good in a past life and your karma is repaying you." _Let him think I'm a harmless ninny._

"Well come with me and we will see, won't we?"

Nikola nodded and smiled as fatuously as he could manage, and followed Mr. Arthur back out through the kitchen door.

/

The ride was a little bumpy in the back of the truck, but they were obviously on a paved road, so they had to be going somewhere easily accessible. Will was hoping it was just a delivery to another store somewhere, but then they turned off onto a dirt road. Even that though, wasn't bad. It was relatively smooth and kept in good repair so there had to be regular traffic on it.

Eventually, they arrived. The truck turned, stopped, backed up, and stopped again, and the engine was turned off. The heard voices, then the back of the truck was opened. The truck bed shifted under someone's weight, and then a man's voice said "We'd better get the meat in the freezer first."

More scuffling, then the weight left the truck and it got quiet. Helen peeked and saw no one. This might be their only chance. She looked at Will and tilted her head at the truck opening. They both got up and moved quickly over and around the freight to the open doorway, Will slinging the clothes bundle over his head again. No one was around, and they saw the truck was backed up in the doorway of a barnlike structure with bales of hay, piles of feed, and miscellaneous crates scattered around. They jumped down and headed for a large stack of crates, concealing themselves just as the voices returned.

Two men unloaded the truck, occasionally commenting on the load, but saying nothing useful about their location. Helen and Will waited patiently, and in less than an hour the truck was fully unloaded and driven away, and the big doors at the end of the building closed. They were alone.

They crept to the doors and found there was no lock, just simple handles to work the latches. Will opened one door slightly and looked out. It was dark and quiet, except for a large well-lit house a good two hundred feet away across the road they had come in on and a nicely groomed lawn. There were voices coming from somewhere to the left. A group of people stood around with flashlights, apparently working on something in a shed at the side of a long low building.

They slid out of the barn and silently closed the doors after them. They moved to the right away from the group of people and around the side of the barn out of sight. There was another building not too far from them, and they went to explore.

The door was unlocked. Inside, there were stairs in front of them going up on the right side and down on the left. They went up, and arrived in a large room full of small to medium sized aquariums softly gurgling. The main lights were off, but there were enough small lights around the aquariums that they had enough illumination to walk around and see what each held.

Some of the creatures in the tanks were beautiful, some ugly, some quite ordinary looking, but both Helen and Will knew they were all abnormals.

"What is this place?" Will asked.

Helen just said "Let's check downstairs."

Downstairs was more of the same, but with larger tanks that held larger creatures. Unlike upstairs, where her examination had been cursory, Helen checked the contents of each tank carefully.

"This is quite an astounding collection" she said. "At least none of these creatures is intelligent, I was half afraid I was going to find a mermaid in here."

"Okay, so it's a big collection of abnormals. Can we go to the police now?" Will asked impatiently.

"Police? And what law has been broken? Look around. All these creatures are well fed, healthy, and the tanks are all clean. There is even environmental enrichment in each tank" Helen said, gesturing with distaste at a big pink plastic castle in one tank.

"But this isn't a Sanctuary."

"No, but it's not illegal to keep fish tanks. The only possible violations I see are several very rare species that should probably not have been taken from their natural habitats. Still, the owner might have special licenses for them. There's simply nothing here that any animal anti-cruelty organization would object to."

"So what do we do?"

"Let's check the other buildings. Considering the thoroughness of this collection, I doubt they're filled with more fish."

They went back outside. The couldn't hear the voices anymore, but they decided to check out the next building away from the feed barn. This one was also unlocked, and it turned out to be an aviary. The conditions inside were much the same as the fish building. The birds were all abnormals, many unusual and rare, and very well cared for.

Will said "Maybe we should just head out the way we came in and get to a phone. Whether or not there's something illegal going on, we must have enough info to warrant coming back with a team and checking everything thoroughly."

"No, I need to see all of it now. We have no right to come in here with a team unless we find something illegal or dangerous. There may be intelligent abnormals here being held against their will. Those supebears that attacked us are at the very least a danger to the public, even if it was an accident they were loose, but we haven't found them yet. We need to know exactly what we're dealing with so we can decide on the appropriate action."

Will nodded reluctant agreement. They quickly went through the other out buildings. Besides the feed barn, aquarium, and aviary, there was a reptile house, a small mammal/furry creature house, and a big building that held a number of very odd creatures including a pair of big black cats with skimpy manes and four blue eyes. At the far end they found a large barred enclosure with one of the superbears lying dead. None of the creatures they found were of any of the intelligent abnormal species they knew, and none acted particularly intelligent.

It was very late when they finished, actually early morning, and the main house was now mostly dark with just a few dim nightlights here and there. They headed for it.


	7. Chapter 7 Sunday Night

Once he got the generator cover off, Nikola had no difficulty repairing the unit. But he checked over various components before and after he actually effected the repair, stretching a ten minute job to a half an hour and making it look more difficult than it was.

"There you are Mr. Arthur" he said finally. "Try it now." The generator started easily and ran smoothly.

"Excellent Mr. Thomas, I am indebted to you. Oh, but my name is actually Arthur Zbiegnievsky. I allow the staff to call me Mr. Arthur because some of them simply can't pronounce Zbiegnievsky correctly. You may just call me Arthur, and I will call you Nicholas."

Nicola smiled and nodded, but his heart sank. He had told the Sanctuary to look for property owned by someone named Arthur, not Zbiegnievsky. The Sanctuary wasn't going to find this place from property records. And with the supplemental generators it was likely there would be no big spikes in the power grid to alert anyone either. He couldn't expect any help, he was completely on his own.

They went back to the house. Most of it was dark by now. Arthur handed him off to a neat, precisely dressed older man who was apparently the butler. He introduced himself as Robert. _Probably Bob_ Nicola thought, but followed him obediently out of the kitchen, through a large dining room into a foyer and up a fairly grand staircase.

At the top of the staircase was a long hall. Robert led him past several doors and then stopped and opened one for him. It was a large bedroom decorated in pale green with its own bath. The furnishings were solid and in good condition, if old, and it looked clean. Nikola approved.

Robert addressed him. "Sir, we have provided a robe and slippers. If you leave your shoes and clothing in this basket out in the hall I will have the staff clean and mend what they can and have it for you in the morning. I will have a tray sent up, since you undoubtedly missed supper." Robert left, closing the door behind him. Nikola liked the man's efficiency. He doubted anything could be done to save his torn suit jacket or shirt, but he had hopes for his shoes, even soaked and filthy as they were.

Nicola showered and put his shorts back on; no way he was going exploring wearing nothing except the white terry robe and slippers that had been provided. He put the gun and empty clip in the robe pockets. When he took his basket of clothing out to the hall, Annette was just coming from the far end with his tray. The exchanged burdens and Nicola retreated to his room with his tray. This place was nearly as good at service as the Waldorf. Except for the giant vicious superbears, Nikola wouldn't have minded coming back.

There was nothing he could eat on the tray except for a glass of wine and a pot of black tea. He downed the wine and sipped the tea as he put the rest of the meal down the toilet, flushing it away. He left the tray and empty dishes back in the hall, reminding himself to compliment Annette on the food if he saw her again. People liked that sort of thing, and he wanted these people to like him, at least until he was safely away.

He checked the clock in the room; it was nearly eleven, early for him to go to bed, but he was tired enough to be looking forward to some rest. He set his internal alarm for four hours; less than he usually slept, but he needed some sleep. That would rouse him noiselessly at three A.M., a very good time for snooping. He took off his robe and slippers, turned off the bedside lamp, slid under the covers, and was asleep almost immediately.

Nikola woke at ten minutes after three, a little surprised at awakening late, but he had been very tired. Now he was just hungry, but that wasn't as bad since he had rested. He put on his robe and slippers and checked the hallway. His clothes weren't back yet, but the house was dark and still.

He headed downstairs. There was likely nothing very interesting in the main house since it was the day-to-day living area, but he would check to see if there was an office or study on the way back. There were two added-on single story wings that were more promising. He tried the west wing first, but it was just one open hallway with four doors on one side and three on the other. At the end was a door to the outside and a rec room of sorts with a TV, game console, pool table, dart board, etc. Behind the doors he could hear occasional snoring that supported his idea that this was likely the servants' quarters.

He headed back to the main house. He heard a noise and froze, but it wasn't repeated. That was one of the problems with sneaking around in a strange house; one wasn't used to the normal sounds of the building. There was apparently no regular guard patrol in the house so he ignored any other little sounds as long as they weren't near him. He knew there were security guards, and it bothered him a little he didn't know where they were. Outside maybe?

He passed through a formal dining room, living room, and media room before finding a door in a small library that seemed to be in the right place for access to the east wing. He was pleased to find the door locked; locked doors meant secrets. The tumblers yielded easily to his magnetic manipulation, but he paused before he opened it. If this was a secure area . . . he did an electromagnetic scan ahead. It was difficult through the wall, and it drained him far more than it should have, but he sensed heavy duty wiring and . . . cameras probably.

That was likely where at least one security guard was, watching monitors. He had to work hard at it, but he finally was able to freeze the cameras' views; he opened the door. There was a short hall that turned left and then right with cameras mounted at the ceiling at two of the turns. Nikola smiled at the security measures now lying to the guards and walked past them into a huge laboratory.

He recognized many of the instruments in the lab, but this was not equipped for inventing or physics. This looked more like a set up for chemistry or medicine; perhaps abnormal creation? When he found the cryogenic sperm and ovum banks labeled with various animal and abnormal species, he was sure. Dear Arthur was meddling into things he really shouldn't. Nikola had no doubt now that the superbears were deliberate creations. Mr. Zbiegnievsky was playing at being Dr. Frankenstein. Fool.

Good scientists kept records, and it didn't take him long to find them on a computer. He leafed through a few files, finding mostly failed experiments. He finally found the superbears. Nikola sighed at what he read. Grizzly bear, chimpanzee, and canine- Alsatian he thought but he wasn't sure. The intent was to create a guard animal bigger, fiercer and smarter than a dog with a dog's loyalty and trainability. Arthur had come close, but the wild animal genes were too strong and the creatures kept leaving the property to range and hunt. They returned to their enclosure for their food after an outing, but Nikola could see from the repeated failed training attempts that they would never be what Arthur had tried to create.

He erased the file, but the computer would need to be confiscated and all the experiments completely deleted. Personally, he saw no point in that type of experiment. In the end, what good did it do? They certainly didn't improve anyone's quality of life. Although if one could create a food animal that could subsist on very little . . . one would end up with a goat. Nikola shook his head- he was right, that sort of experimentation was just foolish.

At the far end of the lab he found a stairway down. At the bottom was another locked door. This one was steel, and the lock was more sophisticated. He hesitated, checking for alarms or more cameras. There was wiring, some likely fed more cameras; he couldn't do the delicate work of freezing the cameras' images, too much metal in the way and he was too tired.

He took a chance and just burned out the heavier amperage circuits and was dismayed a moment later to hear an alarm go off somewhere in the house. He hurriedly unlocked the door magnetically. It seemed like it took the last of his strength to turn the tumblers in the metal door. Well, if he was going to be caught he might as well find out as much as he could first.

The hallway beyond was about six feet wide, with glassed-in enclosures on either side- no, not glass, the clear stuff Helen had used in the Shoe containment areas in the old Sanctuary; he recognized the almost-glass look and the distinctive metallic smell. What did she call it? It didn't matter, this looked very similar to the Shoe but it was just one simple hallway with lights down the middle of the ceiling. He hadn't knocked them out and they were all on, even though it was the middle of the night.

There were six containment areas on each side of the hall, each about eight feet wide with solid partitions between them As he quickly walked down the hall he could see they went back about twelve or fourteen feet, and each had a resident.

Most of the residents were sleeping, but a few looked at him as he passed. Abnormals- intelligent abnormals, every one, or so he assumed. Some were obvious, the man with the large wings who would barely be able to stretch them in the confined space, the female whose body ended in reptilian snake rather than legs, the small Sasquatch that was no taller than he.

Others looked human or nearly so, but he was quite sure they were not. At the end of the hall there were two empty compartments, one on his left second to last across from a human-looking female wearing what looked like a feed sack with head and arm holes, and the other the last on the right across from something curled up in tan colored clothing asleep. Room for two more; Nikola shuddered.

None of the abnormals showed him much interest. Those that were awake just looked at him impassively. From that he deduced there was nothing unusual in a stranger walking past looking at them; they were on display? Nikola felt nothing but revulsion, and a little pity. To those that were awake, he said softly "I was never here, you never saw me. I'll come back with help." The best he got was a quizzical look in return. He didn't know if they understood him or believed him, but it was a chance they wouldn't report him to their captors.

He hurried back to the door and locked it behind him. There was nothing he could do for the abnormals at the moment, and it would be better the more ignorant he could seem in front of Arthur. He made it up the stairs and into the lab, surprised but pleased to find it still empty, but the alarms were louder.

He got to the door to the east wing, slipped through and locked it behind him. Oddly, the alarm suddenly shut off. The timing of the alarm going on and off didn't really seem to match his actions. He quickly turned on a lamp, pulled a book off a shelf at random and sat down and started reading. He only had time to notice the book was poetry before two men strode into the library with guns in their hands.

They were surprised to see him and he feigned surprise in return. He really was surprised when behind them Helen and Will were pushed into the room by four more guards and Arthur. The first two guards were fully dressed, but the other four had obviously just thrown on clothes hurriedly. Arthur had on the clothes he had been wearing earlier, but with a suit jacket that didn't match his trousers.

"Nicholas, what are you doing here?" Arthur asked accusingly.

Nikola put down the book and spread his hands. "I woke up and couldn't get back to sleep. I went looking for something to read and found your library. I heard alarms, what's going on?"

Arthur looked angry and suspicious. "Thieves tried to break into my safe, but as you can see we have captured them." Arthur addressed George, who had come into the room last "George, see Nicholas back to his room." And to Nikola "Take the book if you like." It was more an order than a request.

Nikola picked up the book, looking coolly at his friends as if he had never seen them before. Will was plainly staring at him accusingly; Helen had started to smile when she first saw him, but quickly schooled her expression into one of indifference. Nikola winked at her as he went past and she winked back. Will had no clue, of course, but with their long history, the winks said everything necessary. His wink _said do you want me to get you out of here_ and her wink back said _ready when you are_.

George led him out of the room. Once out of sight, Nikola put his hand on the back of George's neck as he walked in front of him and gave him a Taser-level shock. He kept his grip on George as he went down until he was sure George was completely out.

Nikola hoped Helen would appreciate his new talent; he had been practicing ever since the first time he had read about Tasers, but had not had the opportunity to try it out on a person until now. Around her he mostly spent his time fighting vampires, who were immune to the level of electricity he could generate personally, or other abnormals that he couldn't be sure of affecting the way he wanted.

But knocking out George had taken nearly fifteen seconds, and it should have been only two or three. Either he had badly miscalculated George's mass or Nikola was far more depleted than he had realized. He stored the question in the back of his mind for later analysis.

He moved quickly and quietly back to the library in time to see the last guard going through the door to the east wing. Again he attacked from behind, reducing the time to knock the guard out to ten seconds with strenuous effort, but it left him panting. The delay had allowed the guard to make a strangled noise as he fell. Nikola lowered the unconscious guard to the floor none too gently.

Ahead, Will glanced back and saw him and jumped one of the two guards between them both of whom had started to turn back toward Nikola. Will pushed his gun aside and tried to wrestle it away from him, but the man was bigger than Will and they momentarily deadlocked. Nikola grabbed for the other guard.

Helen, alert and ready, saw the movement in her peripheral vision and went for Arthur, pushing him into the two guards ahead and using him as a shield as she kicked one of the guards hard enough to knock him off balance and into a wall. She slammed Arthur into the opposite wall and moved past him to kick the gun out of the second guard's hand.

Nikola was grappling with a short heavily muscled guard, trying to get a hand on his bare skin where his electrical attack would be effective when the guard Will was struggling with started pulling the trigger. They had swung around so the gun they were fighting over was aimed in the direction of Nikola and his opponent.

Several bullets missed entirely, but one bullet hit Nikola in the stomach, another his arm, and a third hit the short guard in the back. He went down suddenly, and Nikola staggered off balance, then he was hit in the chest. Nikola fell to the floor. The pain was excruciating but not unfamiliar. Nikola calculated he would be healed enough in about 45 seconds to rejoin the fight. He let himself pass out so his vampire healing could take over.

Will kneed the big guard in the groin and finally got the gun away from him. It was empty, so Will used it as a club on the man's head and knocked him down.

Will turned to help Helen, but she was down too. Arthur held a shock stick and he had used it on her ruthlessly from behind. Both of the guards in front had recovered and retrieved their weapons and had them pointed at Will. Will dropped the gun and raised his hands.

Helen moved a little and groaned as she was coming around. One of the guards near her kicked her in the head, but Arthur stopped him from doing it a second time.

"I want them alive!" he commanded.

Will had jerked forward in reaction to the kick and was glaring at the guard. Arthur advanced on Will and shocked him. Will fell to his knees and was shocked again, and a third time. He passed out.

Arthur said "Take these two downstairs," gesturing at Helen and Will, "you know where." The two front guards jumped to obey. Arthur replaced his shock stick inside the special pocket inside his jacket designed for it, and went to examine the other three guards.

One was obviously dead; a bullet had severed his spine. One, bleeding from a cut on his head was getting up, and the third was awake, although twitching a bit as he stood up.

Arthur turned to check what he thought was Nicholas's body, wondering why he had attacked. He must have been a plant working with the other two, but it just didn't make sense. He was already inside, why had the other two broken in? Arthur was disturbed by the fact that he had apparently been so easily fooled by the man.

There was something odd going on though. Had Nicholas's robe just moved? Arthur bent down and gingerly opened the robe, and examined the gaping wounds in Nikola's chest and abdomen. Then Arthur flinched away- he had seen the flesh around the wounds move! And then one of the bullets oozed out. There was only one conclusion- Nicholas was an abnormal himself, and still alive. Arthur smiled greedily. A new abnormal, and absolutely free. Well, he'd lost a guard but what was that compared to a new, intelligent addition to his collection?

At that moment George came back into the room, rubbing the back of his neck. He asked "Should I call the police?"

Arthur shook his head. "Oh no, not now. Take this one downstairs and house him with the male. I'll call Chan, he needs to see this; perhaps he can classify this one if he sees him healing."

When George picked Nikola up, the gun in his robe pocket fell out. George put him down and searched him and removed the empty clip as well. Then he hauled him away after Helen and Will.


	8. Chapter 8 Monday

Henry woke to the sound of voices; Sasquatch voices, three of them. It was barely dawn but he got up and went outside and wandered over to what looked like a sit down powwow of some sort. It concluded as he walked up, and three Sasquatches stood up; Biggie, Bud, and a third smaller, lighter colored Sasquatch he didn't know.

Biggie came over to Henry and said "Henry, I have to go somewhere. I don't know when I'll be back. Bud will lead you to a road."

"What? Where are you going? Why can't I come?"

Biggie sighed. "A young one has been taken." He gestured at the third Sasquatch. "Her daughter disappeared three days ago. She was captured by humans. I need to get her back."

"Well if it's her daughter, why doesn't she go rescue her?"

"None of my people know humans like I do. I have the best chance of succeeding. And it's in the best interest of all my people not to give humans real evidence of our existence."

Henry nodded and said flatly "Okay then I'm going with you."

Biggie started to shake his head, but Henry went on "We're on the same team, remember? And you and I are practically related; I've known you my whole life. My leg is fine, my ribs are fine, I'm going and you can't stop me. Got it?"

Biggie contemplated Henry for a moment. Henry usually went along with whatever he was told, but when he got stubborn, no one could change his mind, not even Helen Magnus.

Biggie gave in. "Eat first. I will check your leg before we go."

It didn't take long to eat some berries and Biggie smeared more greenish goo on Henry's leg injury. It really did look much better. Henry put some nuts in his pockets for a snack later, and they set off.

Henry had no idea where they were or where they were headed, but he just followed Biggie. It took some two hours through the forest before they reached a seven foot high stone wall. There was no gate in sight, but Biggie went right over it and Henry followed with more difficulty, no surprise since Biggie was about a foot taller than he was.

They were in a lightly wooded area behind a group of buildings visible through the trees. They moved up to the rear of the buildings, Biggie silent even in the dead leaves on the ground and Henry trying to emulate him. They moved from behind one building to another, but Biggie made no attempt to find a door or enter any of them. They had to be very careful since it was late enough in the day that there were workmen in green uniforms moving around going in and out of the various buildings.

When they had gone around the backs of all the buildings, Biggie stopped behind a large barn.

Behind him, Henry whispered "Where is she? Should we check inside here?"

Biggie shook his head "She's not in any of these buildings. I can get a tiny whiff of scent, but it's coming from farther away." He pointed past the barn to a large house some distance away. "In there, maybe."

Henry considered. "We're going to need a plan. Let's do the old captive routine. We'll grab one of the workers, I'll put on his uniform and pretend to have captured you. We can walk right up to the house."

"That's a terrible plan. The workers aren't even armed, how could you have captured me?"

"It doesn't matter, by the time anyone figures that out, it will be too late. We'll walk fast. Besides, can you think of anything better?"

Biggie sighed and shook his head. Resigned, he said "I'll go catch one of the workers."

"Get one my size, will you? I want pants that fit."

/

Helen woke to an incredible headache. Between the shocks and the lump she discovered on the side of her head, she could barely sit up against the wall. She was in some type of enclosure, clear plexiluminum on one side, solid on the others. She surreptitiously checked and found she still had her boot knife, although what good it would do her she didn't know. On the back wall of her prison there was a pipe protruding from the wall with a valve on it, and underneath it was a depression in the concrete floor with a six inch diameter hole in the middle. The facilities, she assumed.

She crawled over and turned the valve and got a weak flow of tepid water. She drank and splashed some on her face and the lump, then turned it off. She was glad she didn't need the hole in the floor just yet.

She managed to stand up by holding on to the wall, and found herself feeling a little better. Her balance was good, at least, and the headache receded to a dull pain behind her eyes.

She slowly approached the front of her cage, focusing on the person in the cage across from her. It was a small human-looking female, likely a HAP unless she missed her guess. The young dark-haired girl watched her, but made no move to try to communicate.

Helen heard male voices to her left and saw two men at the end of the hall. The one in charge she assumed was Arthur Zbiegnievsky; she knew his name from the paperwork she had seen in his office before her capture. The other was a middle-aged Asian who was filming something in the last cubicle diagonally across the hall from her.

She looked past them to what she could see from her angle. All she could make out was male legs wearing slippers. Nikola, but he wasn't moving at all. She couldn't see Will.

"Will?" she called out. The plexiluminum muffled sound a bit, but they would be able to hear each other through it if they spoke loudly.

"Here." The answer came from farther back in the same cell with Nikola. Will came forward to the front where she could see him. He looked undamaged, but rumpled and tired.

"Get out of the way" the Asian snarled at him. But Arthur said "We have enough, never mind. Have you come to any conclusions, Chan?"

Chan stopped filming and tilted his head to the side a little. "Fast healing and electrical abilities, but no outward variance from human. I don't know of anything exactly the same, but there are similarities to several abnormal species."

Helen cut across their conversation. "Will, how is . . . he?" she called to Will. She didn't want to give them Nikola's name if he hadn't already. The less their captors knew the better.

Will picked up the clue and avoided using Nikola's name too. "He's healing. I'm not sure how long I was out, but it's been at least ten minutes and the wounds still aren't entirely closed."

Helen thought _damn, Nikola is in bad shape_, and _good, Will didn't give them specific expectations for Nikola's healing. _The more they could hide what abilities they had the greater their chance of escaping.

"When he wakens you need to tell me exactly what you see." Nikola had looked far too thin and pale when she had seen him in the library, and taking over ten minutes to heal bullet wounds was extreme for him. Usually when she shot him he extruded the bullets and healed up in less than a minute, sometimes just a few seconds, and then started complaining about the holes in his clothes.

It seemed he still hadn't fed; that was the only explanation for him healing that slowly. He hadn't eaten now in two and a half days, had done two serious healings that she knew of, as well as probably using his electromagnetic abilities, all without his medication. It was entirely possible he wouldn't be in control of himself when he woke up, and Will was confined with him; things could become very serious very quickly. It was a long time since she had seen Nikola with no control over his vampire side, and it had terrified her then and it would be terrifying and extremely dangerous for Will now. He would have no understanding about what he was facing; he was used to Nikola's controlled vampire state. And whatever happened, there was nothing she could do about it.

Nikola's hearing returned in time to catch her last words. He lay still with his eyes closed and his breathing regular as he fully returned to consciousness. The wounds were still painful, but the bullets were out and he wasn't bleeding anymore.

He felt weak, and his hunger was just beneath his level of control and growing, crawling under his skin, and growling to be let out. He was still in control, but only by a thread, and anything, even something as simple as opening his eyes or trying to move, could break it. And then he wouldn't be Nikola Tesla any more. He had experienced that total lack of control only once before, when he had first been injected by the Source blood, and it had frightened and disgusted him as much as it had his friends. He didn't want to experience that again, but he was going to have to move eventually. And then would he be a man or a monster?

There were other voices, William and two other men. Nikola could guess where he was, he just didn't know which of the two formerly empty containment cells he was in; not that it mattered. Helen's voice had sounded muffled and farther away; she wasn't in the same cell with him, thank God. William was either in the cell with him or very close outside. For his sake, Nikola hoped he was caged alone, but he doubted it since there had only been the two empty cells. The other two men were definitely outside his cage, and he was afraid they were going to get quite a show. He hoped Helen couldn't see what was about to happen.

There was little he could do about it. There was no way for him to give warning, but he could move slowly, one thing at a time to give William a few seconds to do- what? He didn't know, his head was buzzing, he couldn't think.

Nikola opened his eyes but continued to lie still. He could see someone- William?- inside the cell with him, and the starving beast inside him rose. He tried to fight against it, but the vampire in him began to manifest.

Will called out "He's awake but not moving. His eyes are red; I mean really red, the whole eye."

Helen called back "Get away from him, as far as you can, and don't move, don't speak, and don't make eye contact."

Will obeyed her quickly. He moved to the back of the cell and looked away, suddenly afraid. This was too much like the nightmares he had had as a boy after his mother had been killed; in his dreams he had been trapped with a monster, no way to escape. He could hear Arthur and Chan doing a play by play anyway, he didn't have to look.

"Look at that, the eyes are red, and fangs! He's got fangs, and claws!" Chan said excitedly.

"What is he, what is he?" Arthur demanded to know. This was getting better and better, he really had a catch this time.

Chan replied. "Oh. My. God. It's a Sanguine Vampiris. They're extinct, they're supposed to be extinct, and I didn't know they had electrical abilities at all. I have to get film of this." Arthur was grinning madly and almost jumping up and down with excitement.

Helen saw Nikola's legs withdraw out of her range of vision as he stood up, and then he came into view at the front of the cage, head lowered, stalking toward the two men in front of him. To hell with subterfuge, she had to stop this somehow.

She called out to him "Nikola! Can you hear me? Nikola!"

He didn't even glance in her direction. The vampire suddenly sprang into the plexiluminum barrier, making it shudder and ring as it flexed under the extreme force of his attack. He snarled when he bounced off and used his claws furiously, but although he left long shallow scratches, he couldn't penetrate it. Arthur and Chan flinched involuntarily away from the insane creature in front of them, Chan forgetting to film for the moment.

Helen stared at Nikola, horrified. It stabbed her heart to see her brilliant, rational friend turn into a raging animal. She had forgotten over the years how powerful Nikola's vampire could be when fully released. What chance did Will have against that? Somehow she had to find a way to give him a chance.

Then Nikola stopped his attack on the barrier in front of him, panting, and froze in place. He cocked his head and slowly began to turn around. He'd detected Will. Helen had known he would eventually, but at least the first onslaught was over. But she knew of no way to stop Nikola in this condition other than extreme force, and Will was unarmed.

"Magnus? What do I do?" Will's voice was shaking and his heart was pounding. He'd seen Tesla's attack on the barrier and he knew he was next.

"Stay calm and still, you don't want to trigger a prey reaction from him. Don't look him in the eye, he might interpret that as a challenge."

"Okay, that's what I won't do, but what do I _do_?" Will watched Tesla's feet as the vampire approached him slowly, his fangs bared, knowing there was no barrier between him and his meal, and no way for it to escape.

Helen didn't know what to tell him, except to try to bring Will's own knowledge and experience into play. She had no answer that would save him, but Will was a psychologist, there was a chance he could find his own answer.

"To resolve a conflict, you make sure each party gets what they need, although not necessarily everything they want. Nikola needs to feed from you; you need to survive."

Will replied thoughtfully, never taking his eyes from Tesla but avoiding eye contact. "He wants to drain me, I want to not be attacked at all. If neither of us gets what we want, we can both get what we need."

Arthur broke in "What the hell are they talking about?"

Chan said gleefully, "I don't care, we're actually going to get to see a vampire feed, and live to tell about it. This is amazing."

Helen thought _good, Will is calm and thinking now_. "You've got it Will" she called back. "Don't wait and let him attack you, and don't let him take you in your neck. Offer him your arm to feed from. He's much less likely to injure you accidently that way."

"This is not going to be an accident" Will muttered, stripping off his jacket and rolling up his sleeve. Tesla was very close. Will pushed his arm out toward him.

"Here you go buddy. Have a drink on me." Will was proud to see his arm wasn't shaking, although he couldn't say as much for his guts. He and Tesla had never gotten along and he wished fervently that they really were friends. It might have saved his life; was that stunt at the lake going to get him killed?

"Are his feeders extended?" Helen asked. She couldn't see what was going on, and could hear Will's voice, but not what he was saying. "They're very thin, hollow, needle sharp teeth that extend out past his fangs. Will?" Helen was determined to talk Will through this; she could only hope he would survive, for his sake and for Nikola's as well.

Will could see the long, slender, almost hypodermic-like feeders now. Tesla was looking at his throat though, not his bared arm. "He doesn't seem very interested in my arm" Will called back to her from the back of the cage.

"Talk to him. Nikola, take his arm. Use his arm Nikola" Helen called loudly, desperation creeping into her voice.

The vampire didn't respond at all to her words. Will looked at his arm, gestured to it with his other hand. "Come on Nik, good vampire, bite my arm buddy. I'm sorry about the lake, you know? It was just a joke. We can be friends, right?"

The vampire's head remained turned toward Will's throat. Will suddenly realized that what was happening was wrong. He had been thinking about himself, about his own survival, but what would happen to Nikola if he attacked a human being like an animal? When he was human again, how would he feel? Even if they both survived, would Helen ever allow him back in the Sanctuary, would any of them ever trust him again? Would Nikola be so ashamed he would disappear again for decades? Will didn't know, but he remembered Helen's words: _we need him. _

Will dropped his arm, his psychologist training and instincts kicking in. Nikola needed his help.

_Remind him who he is_. Will swallowed, trying to moisten his dry throat, and said softly "You don't want to attack me. Nikola Tesla doesn't want to kill anyone."

Nikola turned his head slightly and looked at Will, his red eyes meeting Will's with no recognition in them. Will looked back, trying not to challenge him, willing him to see "person" instead of "food".

"You're a man, not a monster. You're a scientist, a great inventor, a rational person. You want to help people, make the world a better place."

Helen couldn't hear what Will was saying. Was Nikola feeding? "Will, what's happening? Nikola?"

Nikola growled, his feeders still extended and suddenly stepped in nose to nose with Will. He tilted his head to the side and moved his mouth to just over the pulse in Will's neck. _Oh god, he's going for my throat_ thought Will. The vampire's breath was hot on his skin; Will could feel his heart pounding, his hands sweating.

"Don't do this, whatever you think about me, don't do this. For the love of God . . ." Will said quietly and intensely, "for everything you've tried to do for humanity, don't become the beast. You're better than that, you're a genius and you've had a hundred years to learn to control your vampire, you can do it. You can stop this."

Nikola was still, listening to Will's voice. But Will could tell that what he was saying wasn't having any real effect, and he couldn't keep talking forever. Appealing to Tesla's rational side, even to his ego, wasn't stopping him. Nikola cared about those things intellectually, but emotionally . . . the key had to be in what he loved. Will thought frantically. He might have only seconds before the vampire tore into his throat. He thought furiously, trying to remember anything Tesla had expressed love for, but they had never so much as had a real conversation, much less about something so intensely personal.

Helen, her voice anguished, yelled into the momentary silence "Nikola! You promised me. You said you don't hurt children. Nikola!"

Nikola lifted his head at Helen's words, a little away from Will's neck. Will saw it; he had time for one last shot, one guess, and it had to be- Helen. It was Will's last chance, if he was wrong, he was dead.

"Helen doesn't want you to do this, you know that. If you hurt me she'll be angry, very angry. You promised her you wouldn't attack me" Will hissed at him. "She cares about you as a man. Do you want her to look at you and just see a monster? Do you want her to fear you, hate you?"

Nikola wasn't looking at Will now, he was staring past him, at what? There was nothing behind Will except the wall, but Nikola was seeing something, something Will couldn't see.

"If you care about her you'll stop now. She won't be your friend anymore if you attack me. You'll lose Helen forever."

Nikola started to tremble slightly, and slowly his feeders withdrew. Breathing hard, he drew back, meeting Will's eyes again, but with his fangs still exposed. Nikola closed his red eyes and a look of pain crossed his face. When he reopened his eyes they were black, and he closed his mouth over his fangs.

Will's voice shook as his unused adrenaline took over. "That's it. I knew you could do it. Everything is going to be okay now."

Nikola just stared at him, then backed up a step and turned away. The last thing he remembered clearly had been lying on the floor. But there was no fresh blood smell and he was still hungry. He had been totally out of control, but he hadn't attacked Will, he hadn't killed anyone. Why not? He knew the answer was in his head somewhere, he was just too tired to dig it out. Later.

"I got it" Chan said gleefully, "I got it. Okay, he didn't actually feed, but did you see those feeding fangs? This film is going to make my career."

"That film is mine" said Arthur, "and it will only be shown as I say. You work for me, remember?"

Chan nodded, disappointed.

Their conversation had attracted Nikola's attention. He slowly paced up to the front of the cage, Will following him.

"And these two humans do solve the problem of feeding him, at least for now" Arthur said smugly. "He'll feed eventually."

Chan seemed troubled by that. "But they're humans. It's illegal to imprison humans. These others are legally animals, we can do what we want with them, but not human beings. That's wrong."

Arthur exploded angrily, backhanding him across the face and grabbing the camera. "You do what I say! Or you can join them in being vampire fodder. I have the only Sanguine Vampiris in existence and that makes my collection number one!" He added in a more reasonable tone "He has to eat doesn't he? You don't want me to starve him, do you? What else can I do? Besides, these two are criminals, and they've seen my menagerie; they could make legal trouble for me if I turn them in to the police."

"But we'd win in the courts" Chan whined, holding his reddened cheek.

"Perhaps, but a legal challenge could drag on for years and cost millions, and for what? A couple of criminals."

"We're not criminals" Helen interjected, getting them to turn around and look at her. "I am Dr. Helen Magnus and that is Dr. Will Zimmerman, and we weren't stealing anything from your safe. We were attempting to determine if your operation is legal, and now I see that it is not. These are not animals, they are intelligent beings, people. You have no right to confine them or us."

"Ooh, I'm so impressed" Arthur said sarcastically. "I doubt the vampire will care about your titles or good intentions as he drinks your blood. You broke into my house so you are criminals if I say you are."

Nikola had reached the front of the cage and stood listening impassively to this. Now he closed his eyes and raised his hands toward the two men in the hall. The camera started throwing off sparks, there was a loud POP and Arthur dropped the suddenly hot, smoking, slightly melted ex-camera. Nikola smirked, but had to lean heavily against the plexiluminum wall.

Suddenly alarms went off in another part of the house. Arthur yelled "Damn!" at the camera and "Now what?" at the alarms. He and Chan turned and left at a run.

Helen heard the steel door slam and lock behind them. She looked at Nikola, but he just shrugged a little; the alarms weren't his doing. Helen was glad to see both Will and Nikola if not exactly together, at least alive and sharing the same space without apparent animosity. Although it might be that they were both just too tired to bicker.

Nikola de-vamped, and slid slowly down the wall to sit at the base. Will's hands were still shaking slightly, and they both looked pale and a bit ill.

But there was no time for them to rest. "Gentlemen, we need to get out of here and this seems to be our chance. Nikola, can you do anything?"

Nikola looked up and concentrated on the door latch for a moment, then shook his head. "No met'l, no 'lectronics." His voice was weak and he was starting to slur his words.

She pulled her boot knife out and tried to use the blade to lift the latch on her door, but the jamb had been designed with a jog between the inner and outer surfaces to prevent that. She tried to force the thin blade to slide around the corner, but was afraid to push too hard and break it.

Then the tip of the blade turned, and as she pushed the blade _flowed _around first one corner then the second. She looked up and saw Nikola's face screwed up, his eyes closed, his whole body trembling. She knew he couldn't keep helping her for long, so she tried to hurry, lifting on the knife handle to raise the blade against the underside of the latch. She wasn't getting enough leverage on the handle to lift the latch, when she felt the tip of the knife lift, raise the latch and set her free.

Nikola was mostly lying on the floor, supporting himself on his elbows, his head hanging. Helen quickly moved diagonally across the hall and unlatched their door and she and Will lifted him to his feet. Will got a shoulder under him to hold him up, and Helen went back out in the hall and started unlatching the other doors.

Will protested as he half carried Nikola down the hall "Some of these creatures could be dangerous."

"I recognize most of their species, and all of them are intelligent or they wouldn't be here. Get Nikola to the door, he has one more job to do."

The abnormals crowded the hallway behind the three of them at the door. Some of them were frankly staring at some of the others, but none of them seemed inclined to fight. At least temporarily, they all recognized a common enemy and a common goal.

"Nikola, once more, please. Unlock the door. You can do it" Helen said in as encouraging a voice as she could muster.

Leaning heavily on Will, Nikola mumbled something incomprehensible, but put his hand on the door near the lock. Long seconds ticked by, then the tumblers moved, and they were heading up the stairs.

They were halfway across the lab, when there was a sudden clamor of noise coming at them from the far hallway. Biggie, wearing nothing but his trousers and medicine bag, and Henry dressed in a dark green uniform charged across the lab followed by Arthur's guards and then Arthur himself.

Helen immediately realized the danger, not from the guards, but from the angry abnormals behind her who saw their tormenters within reach.

"Friends!" she yelled, and grabbed Henry and Biggie to her. The abnormals surged around them and leaped on Arthur and his guards. Only one guard got off a shot, and it was knocked wide by a wing. Helen led her Sanctuary team through the tangle of fighting bodies, out to the library.

"Biggie, carry Nikola. Will, Henry, get the servants out of the way and open the front door. All those beings are thinking of now is revenge and freedom, we don't want any innocents injured."

When the abnormals came out of the lab into the library some were injured although none seriously, and most had blood on them but not necessarily their own. Helen led them quickly through the house to the front door.

"Any of you who need medical attention or temporary housing are welcome to come back with us to the Sanctuary" she offered. They listened restlessly; none chose to take her up on her offer. They filed out the door, and she let them go. They had been held against their will long enough and she supposed they just wanted to go home, wherever that might be. They didn't know her and likely didn't trust her, and considering what they had been through she couldn't blame them.

The young Sasquatch paused long enough to have a hooting conversation with Biggie, who carried an apparently unconscious Nikola in his arms like a child. She seemed uninjured; she left after the others.

Biggie said "She knows where she is, and she's okay. She'll be home before nightfall."

"What about Chan?" Will asked. Should we track him down?"

Helen replied "Time for that later. Right now I want to get Nikola home. I'm calling the Sanctuary and ordering transportation and a team. As of now this camping trip is over.

A/N: The camping trip may be over, but the story isn't. More to come.


	9. Chapter 9 Helen and Her Team

The helicopter landed on the lawn and a seven-person Sanctuary team disembarked. Helen had been briefing them throughout the flight, and Will had volunteered to stay for couple of hours to get everything in motion. She would send the helicopter back for him, and anything that needed immediate transport.

Henry had volunteered to stay, too, but behind him Biggie had shook his head and Helen had declined his offer. She checked him over on the flight, but neither Henry nor Nikola were in any immediate danger, so she was able to stay in contact with the team at Arthur's.

Once back at the Sanctuary, she had Biggie take Nikola directly to the infirmary, where she got the robe and slippers off, threw a sheet over him, and hooked him up to a transfusion of whole blood. While she waited for that to take effect, she cleaned and checked Henry's leg; the wound was too old for stitches, and it seemed to be healing fine. An X-Ray revealed no rib fractures, so she sent Henry to his room for 24 hour bed rest. That meant at least 12 hours of "Parachute Troopers", but that was fine as long as he got a good meal and some rest.

Nikola woke up enough by the time he'd had the first unit of blood that she removed the needle, and got him sitting up so he could consume some of his nutrient-enriched animal plasma. It was better for him than straight blood; the blood was more medicinal, and while a pure vampire could thrive on it, his human side needed other nutrients as well.

He seemed a bit disoriented, but he knew what to do with the two units of plasma she gave him, and she left him alone to consume them. He hated anyone watching him feed. She fetched him a glass of wine and his medication, and waited out of sight until he had finished. When she gave them to him, he seemed more his usual self.

He was alert, and brightened at the wine. "Where's the rest of the bottle? You don't expect me to just have one glass, do you?"

"Just take your medication, and be grateful you're getting any wine at all. Do you want to sleep here or in your room?"

"Sleep? I just woke up." He was getting whiny, so she knew he was still tired.

"You were unconscious, not asleep. Shall I just leave you here in your dirty underwear?"

Nikola suddenly noticed that under the sheet he was only wearing the same shorts he'd been in for three days.

He grimaced a bit and said "My room then."

She gave him back the robe and slippers and got him to his room in a wheelchair. She waited outside his bathroom until he had safely showered and put on a clean nightshirt, and sternly pointed at his bed when he came out.

"I'm really not very tired" he grumbled as he got into bed. But as soon as his head hit the pillow Helen could see his eyelids drooping. "I could work on the database for a while."

She just nodded. "Your laptop is on your desk. When you wake up, call if you're hungry and I'll bring you something. It's a once-in-a-lifetime offer of room service. But I don't want to see you out of your room for 24 hours."

She doubted he even heard the last part, he was already asleep.

She checked on Biggie; he was dusting and humming happily under his breath. No problem there. The sound of video games was coming from Henry's room. She checked in with the team at Arthur's again and dispatched two trucks they needed. When Will came in she put him on 24 hour rest as well, which he readily agreed to as long as he as he got to raid the kitchen first.

She was hungry too, so she joined him in finishing the end of a beef roast, and then put herself on 24 hour rest and aspirin for her head. Declan could keep the place running for one more day.

/

Several days later, Helen sat at her desk going through a checklist of cleanup items.

First, take care of her personnel. She needed to re-stock Nikola's animal plasma; when he woke up he'd downed two more units, and the remaining stocks were getting low. She made sure Henry got his clothing back. Will had left it in Arthur's office when they had been captured. Nikola's clothing had been returned as well, but the only thing salvageable had been his shoes. She'd gotten back her little gun as well, but she made a note to replace her boot knife.

Second, she now had a new influx of abnormals to house as well. In the end it had taken three large trucks to pick up everything dangerous or illegal that Arthur had owned. So her housing dilemma had now quadrupled, but all the new abnormals had temporary housing at least and were safe, and none would be endangering the public. She would try to reintroduce the exceedingly rare abnormals back into their natural habitats or institute breeding programs if possible. She hated for any natural creature to go extinct.

There were only two other species that Arthur had created; the big, black four-eyed cats, and a prehistoric-looking bird with teeth. They would be housed and allowed to live out their lives, but would not be allowed to breed.

Third was the legalities. Once the team had finished confiscating the abnormals as well as the lab computer and some twenty notebooks they had found, the police had been called. Will had "counseled" the servants, and the resulting consensus was that Arthur Z. had been keeping dangerous animals in the house, they had escaped and mauled him and two of his guards to death. Fortunately the front door had been opened in time and the animals had fled into the woods. The police would undoubtedly waste some time looking for a bizarre list of animals, since everyone on the staff was sure they had seen different creatures- gorillas, bears, even giant eagles. Helen was quite sure the police wouldn't find any of those, except possibly the bears. The Sanctuary team had dragged the second superbear body out of its pen and into the woods. Nikola had told her the first was dead as well, so if the police found the remains, they would likely be satisfied with that.

Interesting note: three of the guards the intelligent abnormals had attacked had been roughed up, disarmed, and put in the containment cells, but not seriously injured. Two of the three had taken off as soon as they were released, but one named George Granger had stayed and helped Will. He explained his survival with "You reap what you sow. Some of us tormented the poor things, some of us tried to be kind. You guess which were which." He also willingly went along with the story to the police that left out the Sanctuary people entirely. He said with Arthur's death his job was done, and he felt no loyalty to his former employer. He hadn't liked putting Will and Helen in the containment cells, but he thought it was just temporary until the police could come; then he had planned to call them himself, but events overtook him. Helen made an annotation to keep an eye on him and talk to him later. He seemed sensible and brave, he was used to abnormals, and had shown them kindness. If he was telling the truth he might be worth hiring.

The fourth item was what would happen to the rest of the abnormals. She had no doubt that the US branch of SCIU was going to show up and try to take them. Will had found a copy of Arthur's will in his office, and she had contacted the heir, a nephew. Helen had to smile, thinking of that conversation. The man was a Government Accounting Office supervisory auditor. He said he would brush up on the applicable laws on the plane on the way to his uncle's property, and he assured her no one, including SCIU, would take one feather or scale if he could help it. And she rather thought he could make good on that, since he told her he would have every US SCIU office neck deep in audits for the foreseeable future if they tried to interfere with his inheritance.

Helen made a note to follow up with him in a few days, after he had time to get a good look at what he was inheriting and think about what he wanted to do with the remaining abnormals. The will would have to go through probate, but afterwards the Sanctuary would offer to buy whatever he didn't want. Most of the remaining abnormals could be released into the wild once they'd been cleared medically. If he kept any, she would have someone check back in a few months to ensure they were getting proper care.

Fifth was Peter Chan. He was complicit in the imprisonment of the intelligent abnormals, but he had been right that that was borderline legally. In her opinion Chan was not an evil man, just a weak one. On his own she doubted he would present a threat. He had fled Arthur's compound as well, but only back to his own house a few miles away. Her research indicated he was quite knowledgeable about abnormals and an accomplished photographer. If his moral compass could be tuned, he might make a good employee as well, but definitely not in a leadership position. She made a note to contact Olga Larson about including him in her next abnormal wildlife documentary project. He had a mortgage and no job, so Chan was likely to jump at a job offer. Six months in the middle of nowhere with a Sanctuary team would likely tell whether he was employable or not.

She also made a note to have her lawyers start researching case law on intelligent abnormals, but she doubted there was much. Someone like Nikola who had US citizenship papers and numerous patents around the world would have little difficulty proving he was a person rather than an animal, but most intelligent abnormals didn't have those advantages.

Sixth, a team had been sent to tow the van to a repair shop. It had been badly damaged, and she made a note to have Will follow up on the status.

She made one last note- replace the camping gear. She had no desire to go camping again anytime soon, but it came in handy for missions occasionally, so they ought to have it in stock.

She sat back and reviewed the list. Declan and his team had done a good job keeping them from getting any further behind on the day-to-day problems, but their original tasks still needed to be completed, and now she had an additional list of chores as well.

Had it been worth it? Had they accomplished anything? Well, there was the rescue of the intelligent abnormals and shutting down Arthur's operation, as well as preventing the creation of future monstrosities like the superbears. But it was supposed to have been a team building exercise, and she wasn't sure she had accomplished much in that vein. Maybe it was time to find out.

/

Biggie was pleased to sit down and talk. She could see he was still in a happy frame of mind.

"How are you?" she started off. "Are you recovered from our excursion?"

Biggie snorted. "Nothing to recover from. I had a good time."

"And you were able to talk to some of your people again."

Biggie just nodded, and looked down. She didn't want to push him on that subject. But perhaps part of his good mood was now hope that a reconciliation with his people was possible.

When he continued to say nothing, she went on to ask "How are things since we've been back?"

That sparked an animated response. "Good! No more wine bottles or rings on the furniture. I don't know how you did it!" Biggie was smiling and nodding.

Helen smiled back, but uncertainly. Nikola was actually cleaning up after himself? She didn't know how she did it either, and that was worrisome. All she had done was threaten him with some consequences if he didn't, no different that telling a sulky teenager he would be grounded if he didn't clean his room. And that worked? She had serious doubts- there was something she wasn't seeing. But Biggie was happy, at least for now.

She firmed up her smile. "Good. I'm not exactly sure what I did either, but I'm so glad it worked. Let me know if there are any more problems." Biggie nodded and left to go back to his chores.

She didn't want to talk to Nikola yet, she wanted more data first. So she avoided going to the lab, but was able to catch Henry in the kitchen eating a huge sandwich.

"Henry, how is your leg?"

Henry nodded, his mouth full of his concoction of ham, summer sausage, bologna, pickles, and heaven-knows-what on rye. When he was able to swallow, he said "It's fine, probably won't even be a scar."

"And your ribs? How is the bruising?"

"Fine, almost gone." Henry peered at her closely. She hadn't tracked him down just to ask how he was. She already knew he was okay. He helped her get to the point, asking "So what's up?"

"How far along are you on the security installation?"

"Almost done. I figured out what was wrong with the Peru entrance. Somebody, I won't say who but his name rhymes with "Sickola", hacked my program and added random computer generated alerts. I've corrected it now, and strengthened the firewalls around the program. Funny thing, before we went camping I searched and searched and couldn't find anything wrong, but when we got back there it was, a clear trail right to the hack."

"Really. That seems odd." _What in the world is Nikola up to?_ "And the rest of the work has gone smoothly?"

"Oh yeah. It's been kind of weird though, all my tools have been where they belong every time I've looked for anything since we got back. The lab is actuallyl neat, and he hasn't been making any really nasty remarks either. Do you think he's sick or something?"

"I doubt it." But Helen was beginning to wonder herself. "How is his database consolidation going, do you know?"

Henry said "Almost done. He said he'll show me the whole thing this afternoon, and let me take over in the morning with him there in case I run into any trouble."

That alarmed Helen a little. Not only were there changes in Nikola's behavior, but he was also being _thoughtful. _That just wasn't like him. She needed to see him today, or perhaps tonight, since he might just walk out without saying goodbye when he decided he was done; he'd left that way before. She wasn't looking forward to it though; he was likely to be prickly about almost attacking Will and certainly about his changes in behavior.

"Thank you Henry, that's very interesting."

"Yeah, you could call it that. Doc? You think he's sick, or angry, or what? Maybe he's got a brain tumor or something."

"You really are worried about Nikola?"

Henry looked pained but nodded. "Yeah. I mean, he can be a real pain in the butt, but lately it hasn't been actually horrible sharing the lab with him, and you know, he knows stuff and sometimes he shows me. So I guess I don't want anything to happen to him, kind of."

_Not a glowing recommendation_ Helen thought, _but certainly an improvement. Perhaps the camping trip has had a salubrious effect, but the positive changes in mood for both Biggie and Henry are based on unexplained changes in Nikola's behavior, which can be mercurial at times. _

"Don't worry about Nikola; it's almost impossible for him to get sick. I'll talk to him."

"Okay, but don't change his mind. I kind of like things the way they are."

"I'll try, but no promises." She smiled and nodded at Henry, and left him to finish his sandwich.

She needed to talk to Will. There was something she needed to know from him, but she had been putting it off. It was going to be a difficult conversation and she was almost afraid of the answer she might get.

She found him in his office at his desk. "Can you take a break for a few minutes?"

"Sure" he said, sitting back in his chair, "Come on in."

"How are you doing?"

"Hey, I'm actually caught up. D'Arcy, Williams and Ivanovich took care of all the administrative stuff I was behind on while we were camping. Could we take another long weekend in a couple of weeks and have them come in again? Not camping though."

Helen grinned and shook her head. "Sorry, you'll have to do your own work for a while."

She turned serious. "Will, how is everyone getting along now? Did my attempt at team building have an effect?"

Will became serious too. He toyed with the baseball on his desk for a few seconds. "Well, Henry and I are solid. That would have happened anyway, but maybe the camping trip speeded things up a bit. The same goes for Henry and Biggie. Biggie and I are about where we've always been; I give him orders and he ignores me and does what needs to be done. But he's been head-cuffing me a bit more gently, so maybe we're doing better too." They both smiled at that.

"And Nikola?" Helen tensed.

Will shrugged. "I don't know, he's getting along with Henry in the lab, not bugging Biggie, and he hasn't called me anything but 'William' since we got back." He met her eyes. "Doesn't seem right, does it?"

She shook her head. "It's odd, it's what I wanted, but for him actually to be going along just seems . . ."

When she hesitated he finished her sentence " . . . way too easy. But change always takes some getting used to, maybe we're reading more into this than is actually there."

They sat in silence for a little while. Will could see Helen had something on her mind, so he just waited.

"Will, there's something I need to know."

She wasn't looking at him. He put the ball down. He had a good idea what was coming, but he wasn't sure what he should say.

"What did you say to Nikola when you were in the cage together? How did you stop him from attacking you? I could hear your voice, but not your words."

"That might be covered by doctor patient confidentiality."

"He's not your patient. I really need to know."

Will gave in partially. "I just reminded him of who he is, the rational scientist. I appealed to his ego and his intellect." Will wanted her to accept that; if he told the whole truth, how would that affect her relationship with Nikola? It worked the way it was, he wasn't sure it would continue to work if she knew the depth of Nikola's feelings for her. Although after all these years, how could she not know? Still, everyone had blind spots and maybe she just couldn't admit it to herself.

There was an awkward silence. Helen shook her head. "Will, that's not enough. Don't forget, I've seen him out of control like that before. The only way anyone has ever stopped him is by shooting him- repeatedly. You found a key to him, and I need to know what it is."

Will saw the opportunity to pry some information out of her. She had promised not to keep secrets from him, but she very rarely volunteered information, and he had a bargaining chip he wasn't about to waste. "Why? Why do you need to know? You two get along fine just as things are."

He could see she didn't want to tell him. But her need to know the answer to her question overcame her reluctance.

"I don't like to talk about this, but I see I must." Helen took a deep breath and sighed. "When Nikola first changed from the Source blood, none of us really knew what he was. His physical changes were coming and going randomly. My father, Nikola and I were in our lab trying to find something to help him, when Nikola fully changed and went completely out of control. He tried to attack us, and I felt helpless, I had no idea what to do. I have never been so terrified before or since".

Helen paused, and then continued, her voice rough. "My father had a gun, and shot Nikola, then shot him again when he got up, and kept shooting him until the gun was empty and Nikola . . . I thought he was dead. And then he got up again, there was blood all over him and the lab. I was having screaming hysterics by this time. You must understand I was young and had very little experience, especially with dangerous abnormals; my father had sheltered me a bit. And this was my friend suddenly turned into a living nightmare."

Will waited attentively. He doubted she had ever said this to anyone, and she needed to get it out.

"Later, I realized my father must have had some idea about how the Source blood had affected Nikola, not only because he had a gun but because he tossed him a unit of blood we had for transfusion to . . . well it doesn't matter. Nikola took it and fed on it. He was clumsy; it was new for him too. He was already soaked in his own blood, and then it was on his face, all over his mouth, his fangs. I ran out of the lab and threw up. My father kept feeding him until Nikola came back to himself. I couldn't bear to look at him for days afterward. But I vowed I would never be the 'weak woman' again, I would never run away again. And I haven't."

"And now you want to know how to control him."

"No! I need to not be afraid of Nikola the Vampire. Every time he vamps, every time he talks about taking over the world, or does some crazy vampire-driven experiment, the echo of that fear and horror is inside of me, making me want to run away from him. I don't, but I want to."

"Does he know this?"

Helen shook her head. "I don't think so. I'm not sure he even remembers much of what happened that first time. When I saw him next, we both pretended nothing had happened. He's gotten past the whole episode, and I suppose he thinks it either didn't bother me much at the time or I've gotten past it too."

Helen looked at Will angrily. "Now you know my motives. I've given you enough justification, stop digging, and tell me. I need to know what you said."

Will nodded. "Yes, you have. Remember I'm only telling you this because you insisted. I'm not responsible for how this affects your relationship with him, if it does." Will paused. "I told him you would be angry at him if he attacked me; that you would hate him if he hurt me. That he would lose you forever if he killed me."

Helen looked stunned. "And that worked?" she asked in disbelief.

"Yeah. It probably wouldn't have worked the first time all those years ago; you two hadn't known each other for over a century. But it worked now."

Helen was at a loss for words.

"The rational approach didn't do anything, I tried that for almost too long. But I could see he was listening to your voice, that if affected him when you reminded him of a promise he'd made to you." Will continued. "I had to engage him emotionally, and you were the only thing I could think of. Your opinion of him is what stopped him; it meant more to him than feeding."

"What does that mean?" Helen sounded lost.

"Well, when it comes to Tesla? I don't have a clue." Then Will added gently "I don't know what it means, but I think you do."

"I need to think about this. Thank you, Will." Helen quickly left Will's office.

He watched her go, and wondered what he had just done. Had he been kind or cruel? Had he just solved a problem or created an insurmountable one? He found people that old unpredictable, difficult, mysterious, and scary. _Well, what's done is done_. He went back to work.


	10. Chapter 10 Helen and Nikola

Helen decided to wait until evening to talk to Nikola. After he had finished briefing Henry he would likely be relaxing somewhere, which would likely mean wine and a book in the library, or tinkering in the lab. But when she went to look for him, he wasn't in either place.

He wouldn't have left yet. Henry said he planned to work with him in the morning, so Nikola had to be around somewhere. She checked his room, the wine cellar, the small medical lab where he concocted his meds and added nutrients to his plasma, and even the kitchen in case he was washing up his wine glass, but no Nikola.

She needed to talk to him before he left. Perhaps he was visiting with someone? That would be atypical behavior for him, but what about his behavior had been normal since they got back? She went room by room through the residential section, but no one had seen him. But she did find an empty area in one of the unused guest rooms that she thought had held two chairs and a small table.

Why would he move furniture? And if he had taken them, where would he have put them? She had already checked his usual haunts but hadn't seen any additional furniture in any of them. The new Sanctuary was designed to be functional, there wasn't a lot of excess space for additional furniture; and knowing Nikola, he would want some measure of privacy wherever he put them.

At the old Sanctuary, the tower roof had been a place where a person could withdraw and think. She had used it many times, but she had never noticed Nikola using it. Still the roof here was empty space and would have a nice view. She had checked everywhere else, it wouldn't hurt to look.

The outdoor lighting was designed to look like daylight during the day, but at night most of the lighting was turned off to simulate nighttime darkness. But there was some dim lighting around the grounds for safety, and the waterfall was lit just because it was pretty at night. When she opened the door to the roof she could see dimly.

The furniture was toward the forward edge of the roof, and she could see the silhouette of a long lean man lounging in one chair, wineglass in hand. The table was next to him with the other chair on the other side. The table held a bottle of wine and a second glass.

"Took you long enough" he said as she walked up behind him. He poured her a glass of wine and gave it to her as she sat down.

"You're on the roof for heaven's sake. If you want me to find you, leave a note."

"Obviously unnecessary."

The lit waterfall was spectacular from the roof, the temperature was comfortable, and there were no flying insects to contend with. "It's quite nice up here" Helen said.

"It is. Nicer now, though."

There was a long comfortable silence as they both enjoyed the wine. She thought about how often he complimented her. Even his lecherous comments were a compliment of sorts. It was undoubtedly just a calculated way to stay in her good graces, but she couldn't deny she liked it.

She broke the silence. "Henry says you're done with the database."

"Yes, it's finished; it's a masterpiece of course. I'll be leaving tomorrow after I'm sure Henry understands it."

"Nikola, you still have a lot of work to do here."

"What work? Heinrich is doing fine on security since I nudged him to fix his firewalls. You're welcome for that by the way."

"Yes, he mentioned that. He also mentioned the lab has been unusually orderly lately, and Biggie says you are tidying up after yourself as I asked. What are you plotting?"

"Helen I'm hurt. Just because I comply with your wishes and play nice with the kids doesn't necessarily mean I'm plotting something."

"Uh huh" Helen said skeptically. There was silence for a while.

"Getting back to the work you still need to do- you really need to put in patent applications for all those inventions you left for SCIU."

"My ex-elves there have likely already submitted patents for some of them- the dog fence certainly."

"Yes, and which applications the patent office accepts from you and which they reject as duplications will tell us which items SCIU had completed and which they haven't. It will also prevent them from legally using whichever items you can patent."

"Ugh. You know I hate paperwork."

"It needs to be done and you are the only one who can do it; and the sooner the better."

"Alright, alright. I suppose it's not a complete waste of my time. It will take a couple of weeks, but I don't need to be here to do that."

"And then you need to create counters to your dog fence and anything else SCIU has completed and patented. You'll need a well-equipped lab for that, and the one downstairs is available and free for you to use."

Nikola sat up and spoke more loudly. "Do you have any idea how difficult that would be? I was experimenting with Praxian technology, and even I, the greatest genius on earth, barely understand it. You can't honestly expect me to come up with even more advanced technology to counter it."

"I do expect it. You are the careless 'genius' responsible for giving SCIU weapons that could be used to kill hundreds, even thousands of abnormals. You will fix this, Nikola." Helen sounded a little angry in the darkness.

Nikola sighed. "I know. Believe me, I know, and I hate it even more than you do. But what you're asking would take months, even years, and I might not succeed at all. You don't think I'm going to stay here for years as slave labor for you do you?"

Helen was still thinking about that when he added uncertainly "I mean, you don't actually want me here that long, do you? Usually after I've been here a couple of weeks, you start saying things like 'Is he still here' when you walk past me." Nikola took a long drink of his wine.

Helen replied in a conciliatory tone "It wouldn't be slave labor. You know it needs to be done."

The silence dragged on for a several minutes, not quite so comfortable now.

Finally Nikola asked "So how long do you really want me to stay?"

_Here it is_ thought Helen. "Why not permanently?"

"Permanently? You mean like . . . live here? Have you lost your mind?" Nikola suddenly feared he was missing something important.

"No, I don't think so." But Helen sounded uncertain.

"I do have a life, you know. Think what it would be like with me here, all the time; how would the kids take it?"

"I think they would be all right with it, if you maintain a certain standard of behavior."

"Such as . . . "

"Such as the way you have behaved since the camping trip. Taking care of yourself, not aggravating the rest of my team."

_Well this experiment has gone right off the deep end_ thought Nikola_. Now she's going to expect me to act this way forever_. He couldn't decide if this was a good thing or a bad thing. He had wasted a lot of time the past few days being neat and tidy for other people, and he didn't like it. On the other hand, Helen wanted him around. It was such a simple change, and that was enough for her to invite him in after years of telling him to get out? Nikola took another long drink of wine.

"I want you to come inside where I can see you better" Helen said, and got up.

Nikola downed the rest of his wine and followed her, wary. First she was telling him she wanted him around, and now something else was going on and she was dead serious about it. Helen being so serious about something unknown made him very nervous. He expected whatever he had been missing during their conversation was about to smack him between the eyes.

Maybe she really didn't want him to stay here, she hadn't seemed very sure. Was she just trying to get him to admit that he wanted to stay here so she could use it against him somehow?

She led them to a lounge area that was deserted at this hour. She sat on a couch and he sat down next to her, so close their thighs were touching. He put his arm around her shoulders and said "Do you want to neck?"

Helen pushed away from him, sliding to the end of the couch and half turning to face him, her knees barring him from moving in again. "Nikola, be serious."

"I am serious, I want to neck."

She glared at him and he subsided.

"When you and Will were in that cage together and you were about to feed on him, he said something that stopped you. Do you remember that?"

Nikola shifted in his seat uneasily. "Vaguely. I was pretty out of it."

"He told me what he said, Nikola. And I need to know why threatening you with my anger stopped you. It hasn't had that much effect before."

Nikola looked away from her and fidgeted. "I hardly even remember any of it. How should I know?" _Why is she trying to get me to admit I care what she thinks of me?_

"You know and I need you to tell me."

"Well, you know I promised you a long time ago I wouldn't feed on human blood, and I promised I wouldn't hurt the kids." He looked her in the eye. "I keep my promises, Helen, at least when they count."

"Yes, you do. That's one of the few reasons I have allowed you here even when you're being annoying." It was Helen's turn to fidget.

"So is that it?" Nikola asked doubtfully.

"No, not completely. There is something else that needs to be settled. I don't know if you realize it, but I've always been a little frightened of your vampire side, ever since the first time you fully changed."

Nikola looked at the floor, and just shrugged. He didn't believe her. She may have been frightened long ago, but now Helen wasn't afraid of anything. Why was she saying this? Had she changed her mind about him staying and now wanted an excuse to get rid of him?

"When you first changed . . . I don't really want to rehash that. But since then I've always felt unsafe, and honestly a little repelled by your vampire side. I know intellectually that it's still you, but even when I know you're on my side, I end up feeling like something horrible is about to happen when you change."

"I apologized back then, I said I was sorry fifteen times, isn't that enough?" _Maybe I did scare her then, but it was so long ago; could it still be affecting her? She does look at me kind of funny sometimes._

"I don't want an apology, I want to feel safe around you. I want to know that you would never hurt me or anyone I care about. I can't have you here full time unless I can trust you implicitly."

"Helen, I would never hurt you, I couldn't." Nikola spoke softly, meeting her eyes. "If you feel that you can't trust me, then I shouldn't stay here. I can work on the patents anywhere."

Helen stood up. "Stand up Nikola" she ordered.

He stood up slowly, looking at her quizzically.

"Vamp."

"Really? But if it scares you . . . "

"Just do it. I have to face this."

Nikola thrust his arms out, opening his hands and his mouth as his claws and fangs extended. He looked at her expectantly. She didn't look scared.

She walked up to him and looked him in the eye. And then she blind-sided him, hitting him as hard as she could. Nikola hit the floor. She waited for his anger, but it didn't come. All she could see in his eyes was confusion and hurt.

He got up slowly, wary of her. "What was that for?" he asked petulantly.

She walked up to him again. He shied away a little, but she seized him by his lapels and brought him close to her. Then she kissed him, fangs and all. He stood frozen; he was totally confused and had no idea what was going on or what she wanted him to do.

Helen let him go and said breathily "You can do better than that, Nikola."

His eyes opened in surprise, and then a mischievous light came into them and a slow smile crept over his face. "Absolutely" he said in his deep vampire voice.

He took her in his arms and kissed her deeply, taking great care not to cut her with his fangs and using the palms of his hands to hold her gently so his claws didn't scratch her. She kissed him back and they stood entwined for a few moments and then he let her go.

"I could do this much better without the fangs and claws" he offered.

She smiled at him; he hadn't done badly even with a mouth full of razor sharp teeth. "Perhaps; we'll see how it goes." She noticed that she didn't feel the least bit afraid of him. Fear, in fact was the farthest thing from her mind.

He came toward her, but she turned and walked around the back of the couch. "We have things we need to discuss."

"What, now? What happened to necking?" He pouted.

"I want you to move in permanently, Nikola."

He sighed. He gave her a little frustrated snarl and de-vamped. "Fine, let's talk business if you must. If I move in, what do I get?"

"What do you mean, 'what do you get'?

"It's a simple question, Helen. You can't expect me to work here for free."

"What do you want?" She knew she was not going to like the answer, but they had to start somewhere.

_Start with something she will agree to_. "I would need a suite rather than just a room if I'm going to live here.'

"Agreed. There's an empty one at the end of the hall down from my suite."

_There's also one right next door to yours_. I'll need a salary, shall we say $100,000 a month US?"

"Absolutely not. I'm not made of money. You already get free housing, food, medication, and very nice new laboratory to work in, and all the wine you can drink. $1,000 a month for you personally, lab supplies not included. Minor lab purchases under $10,000 have automatic approval; anything higher needs my signature or Will's. And no breaking up a large purchase into several small ones to circumvent the cap."

"Please, I can't even buy a decent suit for that, and you know how fast I go through clothing around here. Do you want me going around in rags? $50,000 a month and a $100,000 purchase cap."

"Since when do you care so much about money? I'll go $10,000 and $50,000 and no higher."

"Since Wardenclyffe. Deal. I report only to you, not William."

"Very well, you will be my personal assistant."

"Your very personal assistant, I hope." He started meandering around the end of the couch.

"Nikola!" But she had to smile, and her tone of outrage was obviously insincere.

"And I'll take the empty suite next to yours, not the one at the end of the hall."

"Not a chance."

"That's the deal Helen, if you want me, and I know you do." He gave her a leer.

"How about a pigeon coop up here on the roof instead?"

"Good idea, I'll take both. A flock of about thirty?"

"Ten, this is an enclosed space and they're too messy for that many."

He had reached her, and took her hand in his. "Okay. So I get the suite next to yours, free food, free meds, all the wine I can drink, $10,000 a month spending money, rights to the lab, I can buy materials up to $50,000 without asking 'Mother may I', a pigeon coop and ten pigeons, and nobody orders me around except you. Oh, and a company car and a company jet."

Silence from Helen. She was distracted by Nikola drawing small circles on the back of her hand with his thumb. _Good lord, what have I done_? she thought_. Should I actually agree to this? I do need him, and he has his pride . . . wait what did he say?_

"Nikola, we're underground, you can't go anywhere in a car or a plane from here. You'll have the use of the same surface vehicles as the rest of us."

"Oh right, sorry, I got carried away." He kissed her hand, and got a wary smile from her. She gently extracted it from his hand, and backed up.

"Good night, Nikola. You can start on the patents tomorrow after your meeting with Henry." _And we're going to take this slowly, I am not just going to jump in bed with you because you make my pulse race- which, oh dear, you can probably hear."_

"I'll call and have my trunks sent from New York." _And now that I am quite sure you do care for me, I will court you properly, my old-fashioned girl._

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Sanctuary or the Sanctuary characters, and I'm making no money from this.

A/N: This is my first fanfic, and I'd like to know what you think: what did you like, not like, want to see in the future? I know you're out there, Big Brother says so.


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